The Unsealed Vampire
by lord of the land of fire
Summary: What if Moka decided she was better off without a seal?
1. The Contract

Tsukune was feeling nervous. He was in his home room seat looking around at the other students. The boys and girls were all dressed in school uniforms like his. Some seemed nervous and quiet while others were talking to their neighbors; they were all waiting on their teacher's arrival. Tsukune felt a little better seeing that at least the students seemed normal. So far not much else had. _Dad, what kind of bizarre monk school have you landed me in?_

He grimaced thinking that it was really his own fault. How could he not have passed at least _one _of the High School entrance tests? Sure he was average, but plenty of average students went from middle to high school without missing a beat. But no, he had somehow managed to fail every test and been lucky to end up here, some weird out of the way place that looked like a gothic castle and was surrounded by cemeteries!

From the second he had stepped on the bus to come here he'd had a bad feeling. The weird bus driver had actually told him this school might be the last thing he ever saw! What the hell kind of greeting was that? Did he say that to all the new freshmen? Was it some kind of weird initiation? Then he'd had to walk about two miles from the bus stop to this creepy looking school built on a cliff. He'd passed through a lifeless wood that had been spotted with tombstones and small graveyards. For the life of him he couldn't understand why any school would be located here, or why it would be in such a strange building. He'd walked as quickly as he could and been glad no one had run into him on the way here. The entire way he'd had the weirdest feeling that he was being watched.

When he'd arrived he'd been directed towards the auditorium where the opening ceremony was to be held. He'd been happy to observe that while the outside of the school looked like the set for a B horror movie the inside had been clean, well lit, and thoroughly modern. During the ceremony the, 'Chairman' had spoken about his hopes for all the students and mentioned he hoped they would all try to, 'survive the experience.' Whatever that meant. The man had been dressed in white robes that reminded him of some type of priest and had even seemed to have glowing eyes. (The bus driver had used the same effect.) Maybe this place was some type of religious institution, that at least would help explain the odd location.

_I hope they don't try to convert me to some weird branch religion no one's ever heard of. _He had already made his mind to study very hard to try and transfer out to a normal High School near home as soon as he could. At last the teacher arrived and the students began to settle down.

"Hello everyone and welcome to Youkai Academy!" The blonde teacher called out with glee. "I am your home room teacher Shizuka Nekonome. Now I think all of you already know this but this is a school for the sake of monsters to attend."

"Huh?" Tsukune grunted. _What did she just say? Was that supposed to be a joke? _He looked around the class. No one seemed to be reacting. A couple students nodded, the rest simply listened with a bored expression as though what she'd said was to be expected.

The teacher continued on explaining that the purpose of the school was to allow monsters to learn how to infiltrate and coexist in the human world. For that reason all the students were required to remain in mortal disguise for the full duration of their time here.

Tsukune kept looking about expecting people to ask her what she was talking about. But no one did, they continued to act as though what she was saying actually made sense.

A burly blond boy across the aisle from him spoke up, he had, 'delinquent' stamped all over him. "Why do we have to bother coexisting with humans at all? We should just eat them," he grinned nastily. "Well, except for the pretty girls among them."

The teacher wagged a finger at him. "There are six billion of them and they dominate the earth, coexistence is the only choice. Incidentally you won't find any humans here; all the administrators and staff are monsters in disguise too. This academy exists in a hidden world where no human would be able to find. Of course if one did, he wouldn't ever leave."

_That _got a laugh. Tsukune was now feeling very, very nervous. What sort of people were these?

"Pardon me," a regal voice called from the door. "I was late arriving."

The teacher glanced towards the door and noticeably stiffened. She suddenly appeared nervous. "Ah, that… that's all right. Please come in and take a seat."

"Thank you sensei." The girls entered the room as though she owned it. She turned to face the class with a look of bored confidence.

All eyes were riveted to her and gasps were heard as people stared at the beauty standing there in front of them. A few boys could be heard to comment on how beautiful she was. The delinquent who had spoken up before actually licked his lips. Most everyone seemed a bit too intimidated to actually talk.

Tsukune was one of them. Looking at this girl filled him with an unspeakable dread. She was dressed in the same skirt and jacket as the other female students and had a leather case in one hand. But she was anything but ordinary. She had long silver hair and a sensual curve filled body that did not belong on any high school student. But the feature that caught his attention was the eyes. They were blood red and slitted like a snake's, they were the eyes of a monster. And there was more, there was some sort of… presence about her. Some invisible aura that he could feel that seemed to press down on him. He was filled with terrible sensation; a wild mix of blind fears and awe. It was all he could not to get up and bolt from his seat. And all this was just from _looking_ at her.

"Ah," the teacher spoke cautiously. "You do know one of the school rules is that you disguise your true self and appear human at all times?"

The girl reached into a jacket pocket and produced a piece of paper. "I have been granted a special exemption from the Chairman. I am allowed to remain as I truly am."

"Special rules for vampires," someone in the back muttered.

"Who said that?" The girl said sharply. "Does anyone have something to say to me?"

Faces paled and heads looked down.

Tsukune couldn't bring himself to look away. _Vampire?! No way it couldn't be! _Yet while his rational mind screamed vampires did not exist his heart knew. On some instinctive level he was sure that this girl was nothing human. She was something else entirely, some other creation.

The teacher nervously handed the paper back to her. "Well then, won't you please take a seat Akashiya-san?"

"Yes sensei," the girl nodded politely.

There just happened to be an empty seat behind Tsukune and the girl walked to his row. Tsukune quickly turned his eyes to his desk as she approached, eager not to draw her attention.

Her footsteps halted right in front of his desk.

Noticing he instinctively looked up. She was standing right there and she was looking directly at him. His brown eyes stared up into her red ones. His heart began to pound as fresh terror began to flow into him; he had to grip the edges of his desk to keep his hands from shaking. She was just standing there looking at him, her face a blank slate that gave no hint of what she was thinking. The other students all noticed the odd interaction and began to wonder if the two of them might have some sort of connection.

"What is your name?" She said breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"A… Aono Tsu… Tsukune," he struggled to say.

"Wait for me after class." She then sat down in the seat behind him.

Tsukune wanted to run away screaming. His hands tightened around the desk and he forced himself to at least appear as though he were calm. The last thing on earth he wanted was to have this monster girl notice him. He was seriously wondering if he would ever make it home again.

The other students were quickly whispering to one another their speculation of what had just happened. The blond delinquent had his own suspicions. He stared longingly at the silver haired beauty so close at hand. Her power was rather frightening but he still wanted her.

Since this was the first day there were no actual classes. The freshmen were only required to attend the opening ceremony and meet in their home rooms. After only another fifteen minutes they were dismissed for the day.

The strange girl turned to Tsukune and spoke just two words. "Follow me." She then strode away.

Though scared half to death he was more scared of what might happen if he angered her. He fell in behind her. As they walked through the halls people got out of their way. The students and teachers alike looked at her with expressions ranging from interest to mild terror. Everyone stayed clear of her though.

Unnoticed one solitary figure trailed after them.

XXXXXXXXXX

She led his purposefully out of the school and into some of the nearby woods. She did not look back at him or say a single word. Fort his part he didn't have the courage to make a sound. At last they came to a small clearing in the woods and she finally halted. She then turned around to look at him.

"Why are you here?" She asked without preamble.

"Huh? You… you asked me to come with you."

"That is not what I mean," she replied. "Why are you, a filthy human, here at this school?"

_She's going to kill me, _he thought with depressing certainty. It was real. This really was a school for monsters. She really was a vampire. And he really was going to die because he was a human and had come here. "I'm… I'm not human."

Grinning she took a couple steps towards him. "Really? Then show me your monster form."

He wanted to run but his legs didn't seem to work. "It's against the school rules."

She was standing right in front of him; her eyes were looking through him. "If you don't I'll kill you."

His knees were shaking. "I… I'm human," he admitted miserably. "Please don't kill me! I came here by mistake! My father somehow got an entry form and he enrolled me here not knowing what this place was! Please, I just want to go home."

She reached out gently caressed his neck with a single finger making him flinch. "Any human who learns of this place is to be killed immediately, and I happen to hate humans. Can you give me a reason to spare you?"

"I… I'll do anything," he pleaded.

"Anything?" Her finger ran slowly up and down the length of his neck. "How about becoming my familiar?"

He blinked and looked at her questioningly. "A… familiar? I don't understand what you mean."

"It's a very old custom," she explained. "Where you take a lower being and bind him to you. I will give you a tiny fraction of my power and place you under my protection. In return you will serve me in any way I choose. You will give me your blood if I am hungry, you will carry anything that burdens me, you will prepare my bath and scrub my back, and you will even give your life for me if that is what I require."

He stared at her not believing the bizarre offer. "Wash your back? Are you serious?"

In a flash he felt her hand around his throat and could not breathe. He grabbed at her arm trying to pull her loose. It was like she was made of iron, all his strength failed to move her even an inch.

"Do you think I came here to tell you jokes?" She spat. "Humans like you made my existence a misery for the last three years. I had stupidly locked away my strength in the deluded notion that life would be better if people were less afraid of me. It never occurred to me how savage and cruel humans could be to those they saw as strange. It was terrible, but it did teach me the truth that the strong always take advantage of the weak. I swore I would _never _be weak again."

Seeing he was about to pass out she released him. He fell to the ground gasping for breath.

"The instant I caught your scent on the road I knew you were human. After three years immersed in that stink I could never mistake it."

"You… were… watching me."

She nodded. "I was tempted to kill you then, but your scent… is not too distasteful. Like all of my kind I suffer from anemia if I am forced to do without blood for more than a few days. This is unacceptable to me as it might be seen as a weakness. I think you could provide me with blood, and if I am to rely on you for that I may as well make you my familiar so I can rely on you for other things. As a familiar you will gain special abilities and strength, and I will protect you. So will you agree?"

Tsukune was on his knees staring up at her. He was about to answer when he heard movement from behind him.

"What do we have here? A lover's spat?" It was the blond delinquent from class.

"What do you want?" The vampire asked in a curt tone.

The boy smiled at her and licked his lips. "My name is Saizo. Why settle for someone as weak as this when you can have me? Become my woman and I promise you won't regret it."

She stared at him for an instant before putting her head back and laughing.

Saizo's face began to darken. He was not used to being laughed at, especially not by a woman. "What is so damn funny?"

She looked at him with amusement. "Do you really think I would have anything to do with a half breed piece of trash like you? You are not fit to touch my foot and you presume to treat me as an _equal_?" She shook her head and the mocking laughter began again.

"Don't you dare laugh at me you bitch!"

Tsukune watched as Saizo began to shake and his uniform tore to shreds. His body grew and transformed into a hideous beast with scaly grey skin and claws and fangs. "I'll show you my power and make you mine!" He howled.

Moka yawned and stepped past a still kneeling Tsukune. "Watch closely, this will not take long."

"What are you doing?" Tsukune gasped. "He'll kill you!"

Moka looked over at him amused. "You really have no idea what a vampire is do you?"

Howling Saizo ran at her and punched her with all his might. He would teach her respect and make her his!

Moka made no effort to dodge or block. She allowed him to hit her. His punch landed and his fist stopped and bounced off like it had hit a mountain side.

"Is that all you have?" She asked with a grin.

Saizo stared at her and wondered if he might have made a mistake.

Her good humor vanished as she moved with blinding speed and delivered a kick to his chest that sent him flying through the air. He crashed through several trees and wound up in a small crater beaten and unconscious.

"Know your place!" She shouted and wiped her hands as though they were dirty. She turned back to a gaping Tsukune. "Do you understand now? That is what a monster looks like, and he was not especially strong. Even if I let you live you will not survive long without my protection."

"I'm not staying! I just want to go home!"

"It's too late for that," she said. "You have seen this place, you know its secret. If you try to leave I will kill you or I will inform the administration and allow them to kill you."

He stared at her. "What does that leave me?"

"It leaves you two choices, subservience or death," she held out her hand. "Serve me and I will shield you."

Shaking he reached out and took her hand allowing her to pull him up. "I… I guess I have no choice. I'll serve you."

She nodded. "That is wise, my name is Akashiya Moka. From this point on you may refer to me as Moka-sama or as master." She placed both hands on his cheeks. "From this moment on you are my familiar."

She leaned in and to his amazement kissed him.

He felt his entire body filled with a blinding heat and his heart thrummed. He shook as a strange energy flowed into him. He had become hers and his life would never be the same.


	2. The Rules

He staggered back. His heart was racing and there was a weird… something flowing through him. "What… what was that?"

"That was the signing of our contract, the 'sealing kiss.'" She explained. "From now on you belong to me. Swear allegiance to me alone, service my every whim, and stay by my side always. These are your obligations to me as my familiar. In return I will allow no one else to harm you. Should you need something come to me and I will provide it, your basic needs will all be met. If you serve me well I can be a generous master." She approached him and placed a firm hand to the back of his head to hold him still. "And now I'll take what's mine."

With savage joy she bit deep into his neck.

"Owww!" He cried out and tried to pull away from her. _She's really drinking my blood! _It hurt but it was more the shock than anything else that made him want to get away from her.

She completely ignored his efforts and concentrated on drinking deep. Her eyes were closed and she appeared to be enjoying herself.

After about half a minute for her, and an eternity for him, she released him. She took a step back and he noticed her lick her lips as if wanting to get every last drop. He slapped a hand to his neck but there was no wound and no blood leaking out. Her bite marks had closed and all that was there were the two small impressions of her fangs.

"Delicious," she muttered. "Even more delicious than I had hoped for. The flavor, aroma, texture, all of it just absolutely wonderful." She gave him an approving smile. "You are definitely worth keeping for your blood alone." She turned about and began to walk away. She had gone about half a dozen steps when she noticed he wasn't following her. She looked over her shoulder to see him still standing there in a daze. "What are you doing you idiot?"

"You… you drank my blood," he said blankly.

"Obviously," she said in an annoyed tone. "And from now on no more crying out when I feed, it's annoying."

"But… what if you drink too much?"

"I will only drink about a pint in a normal feeding; your body can easily make up that much in a matter of hours. I want to continue to feed on you. I can't very well do that if I kill you now can I?" She looked away and started to leave again. "Now pick up my case and follow me, a proper servant stays two steps behind."

"Uh… okay."

As he watched she seemed to disappear. He felt her fast smash into his face and he was flat on his back with an aching jaw staring up at a _very _angry Moka.

"'Uh, okay,'" she mocked. "Is _that _how you speak to your master?"

Tsukune swallowed. As scary as she had been before it was nothing compared to her when she was angry. She hadn't even gotten this upset while fighting Saizo. "I… I'm very sorry Mo… Moka-sama!"

Still frowning she seemed somewhat appeased by his answer. "The relationship between master and familiar is a unique one. We share a special connection now, that means you will be trusted above all others save those who are blood kin to me. I will keep you close to me and even share confidences with you, but **never **forget your place." She turned away and strode off. "Now get my leather case and follow me."

"Ye… yes Moka-sama," He scrambled up to his feet and grabbed her case along with his own book bag. He ran after her to catch up and then fell into step two paces behind her.

She took him all the way to the girls' dorm without bothering to say anything to him. When they came to her room she entered. He hesitated but then went in as well. He saw immediately that the girls' dorms were that same as the boys'. (He had stopped by his room just long enough to leave his luggage.) It was a single large room that included a bed, a small fridge, a closet, a wooden desk, and a single chair. There was a second door which led to a small private bath. Just as the school itself resembled a decrepit castle the dorms looked like run down slums. But just as with the school the interior was clean and in good repair.

"I intend to have you take residence in the room next door," she announced as she slipped off her shoes and undid her jacket. I will have a door cut into the wall to make things simpler. Until then you will simply have to sleep on the floor. I'll have a futon provided for you."

"Huh? You… you want me to _stay_ here?" She gave him a dangerous look. "Ah, Moka-sama," He added hastily.

"How else do you expect to be able to serve me? I will need you here at my side at all times." She began unbuttoning her shirt. "Of course I will give you time to yourself on occasion, but most of your days and nights will be spent with me serving my needs."

He saw her casually let her shirt fall to the floor revealing a surprisingly feminine pink bra. He gaped at her. _I'm here to serve her needs? _"Moka-sama, wha… what are you doing?"

"Undressing obviously," she said. "Go into the bathroom and run me a hot bath. You will find a basket with special herbs in there next to the tub. Pure water weakens vampires, so I will need you to mix in some of those herbs with the water. You can wait for me in there as I will want you to scrub my back as I wash." She slid off her skirt to reveal matching pink panties.

In his entire life Tsukune had never even had a single serious conversation with any girl other than his cousin. Now suddenly he was watching this beautiful woman striping for him and he was going to get to wash her back?

Moka saw the color in his face change. "What are you thinking right now?" She asked.

"Tha… that I'm going to get to see you naked… Moka-sama."

"That's true," she admitted. "As my familiar you will be kept close to me and see me in all states. However," she said sharply. "You had best get any perverted thoughts out of your mind right now. To me you are merely a tool, like my hairbrush or a cell phone. Do not get any thoughts that you are anything more than that. Particularly do not think that even if you are permitted to see my body and touch it that there is anything beyond the relationship of master and servant between us." She deliberately cracked her knuckles. "If I see any evidence you are overstepping those bounds I will punish you severely. Do you understand?"

Swallowing Tsukune nodded. "Yes, Moka-sama."

"Then go prepare my bath."

XXXXXXXXXX

The bath itself was something of a trial as he tried to scrub her without staring at her luscious body. Afterwards he left to retrieve his things and bring them to her room. A couple girls complained about his presence but a few words from Moka settled them down. He put his things temporarily in the corner of her room; she had in the meantime provided a futon for him and unrolled it at the foot of her bed.

Before going to sleep that night Moka went over his new responsibilities in detail. He would walk with her wherever she went from now and hold her case or anything else she had need of. When she came to a closed door he was to open it. When she was to sit down he was to pull out her chair for her. He was to clean her room, do her laundry, run her bath, comb her hair, and provide whatever other menial labor she required.

She would feed on his blood once each day. Even with that she would still take regular meals. He was rather surprised when she informed him he would eat with her from now on. She made it clear that as with his being allowed to sleep in the same room this was done simply for convenience and did not imply any sort of favor. As her familiar he was allowed to speak his mind to her, when she permitted, and allowed to ask questions. He had to always address her as Moka-sama or as master and he needed to be presentable at all times when they were in public. As her familiar his appearance and standing would reflect directly on her. He was not allowed to go out poorly dressed and he could no longer be just an average student any more. In appearance, in manner, and in standing he had to make her proud.

She explained to him about vampires and familiars. He had already seen that sunlight had no effect on her and she had told him that water could harm her and drain away her strength. Crosses could also suppress her power, but only if they were imbued with spiritual energy or wielded by a person with deep faith. Mirrors had no effect. Garlic was extremely distasteful to vampires due to their extraordinary sense of smell, but not directly poisonous or harmful. Vampires were living beings and so were not dead or undead and did not sleep in coffins. (Well a few did, but that was a matter of personal choice.) Familiars gained a fraction of all their masters' strengths. He would find he was now much stronger than any human would be, about as strong as a midlevel monster. Likewise his speed and agility would have also been upgraded. He would heal very quickly from any wounds or illness and his senses were all sharper. He would also begin to age more slowly as his metabolism was now linked to hers. But perhaps most important was the fact that through their bond each of them would always be able to find the other. If Tsukune were left in the middle of the woods a hundred miles away he would still be able to point in the exact direction where she was located. Over time this bond would grow stronger allowing them to sense each other's feelings and eventually even communicate with mere thoughts. The familiar had no power to end the contract. The master could and could immediately take another familiar. A master could only have a single familiar at any given time though.

It was an awful lot for him to take in after just one day. As he slowly drifted off to sleep in his futon he wondered how he would manage this insane situation.

XXXXXXXXXX

As they prepared to leave that morning she handed him a black leather collar with an oval clasp. On it the image of a bat in flight above crossed swords was etched in gold.

"Here, wear this whenever you go outside." She informed him.

"What is it Moka-sama?"

"It's evidence that you are the property of House Akashiya," she told him. "Anyone who sees it will understand that you are under my protection, and indirectly under the protection of my father as well. But before you put that on, I'll satisfy my craving."

She took hold of him and bit into his neck again. He managed not to cry out this time.

XXXXXXXXXX

On the way to school and in the halls Tsukune walked two steps behind her. He had the ideal view to see how people reacted to her. Nearly everyone steered clear of her. Even the teachers seemed to want to interact with her as little as possible. The sole exception was a handful of boys who approached her complimenting her on her beauty and trying to get her attention. Each of these advances was coldly rejected… some a bit more roughly than others.

XXXXXXXXXX

At the end of class they were heading back when they were approached by another male student. "These are for you," a tall boy with gleaming teeth and a mischievous look said holding out a bouquet of flowers to her. "My name is Morioka Ginei, though my friends all call me Gin."

"And what do you want Ginei?" She asked coolly, making no effort to accept the flowers.

"Well I'm a second year here and I was hoping you might allow me to show you around and maybe buy you dinner. What do you say?" He then made the horrible mistake of placing his hand on her shoulder.

She let out a low growl and grabbed his wrist. "Who said you could put your filthy hand on me?" In a flash she swung him about like a shot put and released him sending the poor boy soaring through the distant air towards the horizon. "Know your place!" She shouted.

"Wow, vampires really are scary." Someone said.

Moka turned about angrily. "Who said that?" She demanded.

A really cute girl in a yellow sweater and blue hair stepped forward. She crossed her arms beneath an impressive bosom and stared back at Moka unafraid. There were ten boys who were walking with her. These all looked on rather nervously at the confrontation. "I said it," the girl announced. "Are you going to say I'm wrong?"

Moka gave the girl a hard look. "You would be wise to keep your opinions to yourself."

"Or what, you'll beat me up?" She asked with a sneer. "I don't think my boyfriends would appreciate that." She waved at all the men lined up behind her.

Moka glanced at them clearly not impressed. "I wouldn't rely on any of them to protect you if you annoy me little girl."

"Who the hell are you calling little girl? My name is Kurono Kurumu, I am a succubus and I intend to be the queen of this academy! I mean to have every last boy here worshipping me!"

"How nice for you," Moka replied disinterested.

"You're just jealous that even though you have some decent looks your aura scares people away. If you were sweet and gentle like me you'd have lots of boys flocking around you." She glanced over at Tsukune. "Though the one you do have is sort of cute." She deliberately blew him a kiss.

"Only an empty headed twit like you would care about something so vain as popularity." She said in a menacing tone. "As for Tsukune, he belongs to _me. _I don't care if the others follow you around like puppies. Try taking something that's mine and I'll rip your wings and tail off succubus."

"Ooooh, scary," Kurumu said with a grin.

"Just keep what I said in mind and stay clear of him. You won't get a second warning. Come Tsukune."

Kurumu watched them go with a determined look on her face.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Thank you Moka-sama," Tsukune said as they neared her dorm.

"What are you thanking me for?"

"For what you said to that girl back there, it… it made me feel good to know that you care about me."

She looked over at him clearly annoyed. "Idiot," she barked. "Don't read anything into that. You belong to me so _of course_ I won't let anyone take you. Do you think I would let someone steal my leather case or my jewelry?"

"No, of... of course not Moka-sama."

She looked away from him. "Don't forget your place."

Tsukune nodded even though she wouldn't see it. That was the problem, both with her and with the academy he was still trying to find his place.


	3. The Routine

The alarm goes off and I open my weary eyes. Five thirty, time to begin another day.

XXXXXXXXXX

I take a hot shower and then brush my teeth and perform eh other necessities in the bath room. I put on my school uniform and then hurriedly have some toast with a little butter on it. It's been about a month now since I came here to Youkai Academy. Long enough for me to have developed a routine.

I finish my light breakfast and go to the door in middle of the wall in my new room. The girl who had originally been assigned this room had been moved somewhere else and I had been put here in her place. I am the only boy living in the girls' dorms, just as I am the only human living at this school for monsters. I try not to think too much about my situation, because when I do I get very depressed. I have absolutely no control over my own fate. Everything, even whether I get to live or not is in someone else's hands.

So I try not to think about it. Instead I just try to get through one day at a time. I focus on the things I need to accomplish to get through the day and leave tomorrow for tomorrow.

I enter the room next door to mind through the private door. It hadn't been here originally. It had been built and installed the day after I moved into my room. Anything Moka wants she seems to be able to get. Exceptions and special treatment are constantly given to her. I asked her about that once.

"Normal rules are for normal people," she told me. "They have nothing at all to do with me."

She pretty much just takes it for granted that she is exceptional and should be treated as such. A lot of that is because she is a vampire, but not all I think. I am not sure but I suspect her father is someone very important. At the very least she definitely comes from money. She keeps a jewelry box stuffed with gold and precious stones. She will also give me large sums without thinking twice. Familiars don't get regular salaries, but she usually gives me one day a week to myself. And on those days she will normally hand me a wad of cash and tell me to 'enjoy myself.' She usually gives me between 20,000 and 50,000 yen, which is a bit more than just pocket money. I don't know what she thinks I can do with that much money. There are cafeterias and a couple bookstores on campus where you can buy school supplies and snacks and a few things like that. Since I can't leave the academy grounds there's nothing for me to spend the money on. I've already saved around 120,000 yen.

Entering her room I approach her bed. It's just getting light out so I can clearly see her lying there asleep. I always hesitate a bit before waking her. This is the way I like her best. Her eyes are closed and her face is peaceful. When I see her like this she really looks like an angel. It's a stupid thought, I know better than anyone else she is anything but angelic no matter how beautiful she is. But still… each morning I like to take just a few seconds to see her like this.

I flip the light switch on and call out in a loud clear voice. "Please wake up Moka-sama; it is time to get ready for the day."

Her eyes flicker open and she yawns, coming awake. Her red eyes focus and look over at me. "Good morning Tsukune," she says through another yawn.

"Good morning Moka-sama," I reply. "I will prepare your bath and set aside your clothes for the day."

She slowly nods and tosses the blankets aside. She is wearing a plain cotton shirt and white panties. Her long smooth legs are on display. I force myself to look away and go to her bathroom to get the bath ready. She doesn't care that I see her body, but if I stare blatantly she gets angry. An angry Moka is something to be avoided.

XXXXXXXXXX

I scrub her back and comb her long hair for her once she dries off. I then stand there and watch as she dresses herself. I have to look totally disinterested as this gorgeous woman with an adult model's looks and body puts on her bra, panties, and other clothes. It's not easy to keep from staring (or drooling for that matter) but after a number of beatings I've managed to figure it out.

Once she is dressed she checks her appearance in the mirror to confirm it is perfect. Satisfied she comes over to me. I know what comes next.

"Time for breakfast," she says. She sounds hungry.

She bites down hard. It hurts but not too bad. I don't cry out or try to struggle. I simply stand there and allow her to drink my blood. It's all just part of the morning routine.

When she is done she lets go off me and I see her lick her lips. "Delicious," she says with an approving grin. "Your blood is almost addictive."

I know it's weird, but I'm actually kind of proud that she thinks my blood is so wonderful.

"Let's go," she says.

I put on my leather collar and pick up her leather case and my own book bag. "Yes Moka-sama."

XXXXXXXXXX

Walking to class the other students stare and gawk at me like I were a freak. Even though I am doing nothing more than walking I still stand out. Though I do not want to I am forcibly reminded of my experience in middle school. I hid away my power and attended a human school, all so that I could finally gain acceptance. I wanted to have friends and be treated like an ordinary person rather than as a vampire. I honestly thought it was possible.

"She believes in monsters!"

"What a freak!"

"You're so stupid! What kind of dummy believes in monsters?"

I had no idea human children could be so cruel to one another. And not only cruel, but spiteful and petty. They made my time there a misery and all because they thought I was a little strange. _That _was reason enough to make a classmate feel completely unwanted and alone. At least the students here at the academy have a genuine reason to avoid me.

I don't let any of my thoughts show on my face. So far as the world can see I am content with everything as it is. After all I am a vampire, being alone is my fate. Trying to go against that only leads to pain. I'll find a mate worthy of me one day and have a family, that will be enough.

I round a corner in the road and see someone who is obviously waiting for me. The fool has a bouquet of flowers and as soon as he spots me hurries over. Just how many times am I going to have to reject this idiot?

"Moka, you look as radiant as ever today!" He holds the flowers out to me.

Of course I continue walking past while ignoring them. "What do you want Ginei?"

His smile never falters. "Well to start with why don't you call me Gin?"

"No," I tell him flatly.

He walks right beside me matching my pace. At least he knows better than to actually try and touch me. "Won't you at least give me one chance? I'm a werewolf after all; we would make a great match. You're absolutely perfect for me!"

I come to a sudden halt and face him. "Why?"

He does a double take and looks ridiculously confused by my simple question. "Heh, what do you mean?"

"You say I am perfect for you. Why? What makes me so ideal for you?"

His smile gets even bigger and it is obvious he thinks he has some chance with me. Idiot.

"It's because you're so absolutely, amazingly, breathtakingly beautiful!" He cries out. "Really a vampire is the absolute best! You are the most beautiful girl here by miles and miles! Even Kurumu doesn't compare to you! The moment I saw you I knew I had to have you!"

"I see, so all I am to you is a beautiful prize?" I bear my teeth and he begins to slowly back away from me. "You want me solely because of my looks. My mind, my strength, my own wants and desires are all meaningless to you so long as I am pretty. Is that what you mean?"

Still slowly backing away from me he tries to laugh but it comes out a rasp. "Mo… most girls like hearing that a good looking guy thinks their beautiful."

"I am not most girls," I tell him menacingly. "You are the kind of boy I hate the most, obsessed with nothing but appearance, not caring a whit about what lies beneath."

"That's not true Moka! Of course I care about things other than your looks!"

"Really? What is my favorite drink? What is my favorite color? What is my favorite flower?"

"How… how would I know?" He pleads.

"You could have at least made an effort to find out _something_ about me before deciding I was, 'absolutely perfect' for you. But obviously something as trivial as my personality wouldn't really matter to you would it? You really are the absolute worst!"

"You're going to hit me again aren't you?" He whimpers.

I slam a kick into the side of head that sends him flying off the road and into a nearby tree. "Know your place!" I shout to him even though I can see he is unconscious. "And stop asking me for dates! Even if you are an elite monster I would never be interested in anyone as shallow as you!"

I start walking again. Predictably all the other students have hurried away and I am alone on the road. Maybe they're afraid I will lose all control and attack them too. I really do hate people like him. They can stand there and talk about caring for someone even when they know nothing about them!

"Your favorite color is red," Tsukune says from behind me. "Your favorite drink is tomato juice, but I have no idea what flower you like."

I look over my shoulder back at him. The thought that a _human _knows me better than anyone else at this whole academy makes me want to laugh bitterly. Then again, he is my familiar, and a familiar _should _know his master's tastes and wants.

"I like lilies," I tell him.

He nods his head with a serious expression as though filing that information away.

For some odd reason that small gesture pleases me.

XXXXXXXXXX

Moka-sama and I have the same home room and math class. During the rest of the day we are separated except when I meet her for lunch. When I am in class by myself or in the hallway without her I become just another student. My teachers and classmates treat me like anybody else. They all notice the collar around my neck but it doesn't seem too big a deal.

When I am with Moka though it's like I'm an extension of her. People fear to look at me almost as they do her. I have talked to a few people but I haven't really made any friends yet. I definitely haven't made any progress towards making a girlfriend. To be honest I'm not even sure I would be _allowed _to have one. But even if I were some girls simply don't interest me.

"_Oh Tsukune," _a familiar voice sings out as I'm on my way to history class. I look up to see Kurumu who, 'just happens' to be in the same hallway as me. It's interesting how she always manages to run into me at some point when I'm not with Moka. As usual she comes up to me and grabs my arm, deliberately pressing her boobs against said arm. "How are you doing Tsukune-kun?" She asks sweetly.

While all this is going on the dozen or so boys who were escorting her all glare at me. I'm sure that if it weren't for the collar I have around my throat they'd have jumped me a long while ago. As it is they have to settle for just sending me their hard looks.

"Hi Kurumu," I say politely. Thanks to my training with seeing Moka naked or almost naked I can actually handle feeling Kurumu's breasts against me and still sound coherent.

"Want to come over to my room later and study?" She asks me and begins to press herself against me a little harder.

Under different circumstances I'd have said yes so fast it would have broken the sound barrier. If a girl like her had said something like that to me in my old school I'd have fallen to my knees and praised kami. But as it is I'm not even slightly tempted, despite her really amazing boobies.

"I'm sorry but I really can't," I tell her.

"Why not?" She asks with a pout.

"I am not free," I tell her. That is both literally and figuratively true.

"Doesn't she ever give you any free time?"

"Yeah, she usually gives me Sundays off," I admit.

"Then let's have a date Sunday!"

"I'm sorry, but I really can't," I tell her. "I don't think I should go on a date with a girl who already has so many boyfriends."

"I don't mind silly," she says brightly.

"But I'm afraid I do," I tell her as politely as possible. No matter how amazing her body is I just can't like someone who treats others so badly. Its obvious many boys seriously like her, yet she treats all of them like they were nothing.

No matter how pretty the outside, her insides are ugly to me. I slip into my class and escape her, at least for now. She seems awfully determined to go out with me.

XXXXXXXXXX

In math class we have our quizzes handed back to us. Looking down at mine I see I got a 75. I suppress a groan. Back in middle school I'd have been satisfied with that. Actually _I _still am, the problem is someone else.

"How did you do?" A cool voice asks me.

I know better than to lie. "I got a 75 Moka-sama." Glancing at her desk I can see she got a 95.

"Unacceptable," she says sharply. "I expect you to be in the top ten percent of the class. No dinner for you tonight."

I nod. As far as punishments go that's actually a pretty mild one.

"Obviously you will need help, not only in this class but in others as well. I will hire you a tutor."

"I really don't need…" I see her look and my voice kind of trails off.

"It's decided," she tells me. "I will get you the top student at this academy to act as your tutor."

XXXXXXXXXX

In the back of the advances science class Yukari suddenly sneezed.


	4. The Little Witch

"So given all that X would have to be?"

Tsukune hesitated just a bit. "Uh, four?"

"That's right!" Yukari said approvingly. "I'm sure you'll do really well on the test tomorrow!"

"Thanks Yukari, you're a real life saver," he told her. He put a hand behind his head and continued feeling embarrassed. "I'm sorry you have to spend so much time helping me, it must cut into your own studies. It must be a real bother having to come over here every night just to tutor me."

"Oh I don't mind!" She said quickly. "I… I sort of enjoy the time we spend together." The eleven year old blushed just a bit and seemed a little nervous. "You're really nice to me Tsukune, and I appreciate that you treat me with respect."

"Well how else would I treat you?"

"Ah, well, not everyone is as nice as you," she admitted quietly. "Being so much younger than everyone else and especially being a witch I sort of stand out."

Tsukune frowned. Moka had explained to him about witches being one of the, 'border races.' They were essentially humans who possessed super natural powers. They straddled the boundary between human and monster, not really belonging to either camp. Moka did not seem to think all that much of them either; she had been distinctly cool towards Yukari. But since the little girl was considered a prodigy and the top student at the Academy Moka had still hired her to be his tutor. She came over each evening after his duties were completed and they spent two or three hours in his room going over various subjects. Math was his weak point though and that was where they mostly focused. She was very serious and focused about teaching him, but was also very patient and did not mind answering his questions. He found it very easy to learn with her help.

"Maybe it would help if you wore a school uniform?" He offered. "At least that way you would stand out a little less."

"Hmph," she said and defiantly crossed her arms. "That wouldn't hide the fact I'm eleven or that I have to carry a wand around with me. Besides, I think the way I dress is cute."

He flashed her an amused smile. "Well you are definitely cute, no argument there."

The little girl's face darkened a little more and she began pressing her fingers together nervously. "Er, thanks."

The door that separated Tsukune's room from Moka's opened and his vampire master entered. She never bothered with knocking when entering his room. She cast a slightly suspicious look at Yukari. The two of them were sitting on the floor together with books and papers out. "It's about time for you to go little witch," she told her.

The girl looked unhappy but still nodded and began gathering up her things.

Tsukune knew she didn't like the way Moka referred to her. "Moka-sama, could you please refer to her as Yukari?"

In the very next second he felt the back of her smash into the side of his face.

"Ow!" Moka never held back when she felt the need to punish.

"Why did you hit him?" Yukari jumped to her feet gripping her wand.

"I hit my familiar for daring to correct me," she said coldly furious. "It is none of _your _concern little witch, now go."

Her knuckles ached as she gripped her wand even tighter. She knew if she used magic right now she would seriously regret it, but she couldn't stand seeing someone as kind as Tsukune being treated so badly.

She might or might not have acted, but she felt a hand lightly touch her shoulder. "It's okay Yukari, I'm fine." He said reassuringly. "Please just go, I'll see you tomorrow."

She looked at him worried. "Are you sure Tsukune?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

She hesitated, but since he was telling her it was okay she did go.

"Why is it that even after this long you keep forgetting your place?" Moka asked angrily. "I am the master, you are the servant. _I _correct _you_, you are _never_ to try and correct me."

"I am sorry Moka-sama," he stood up and bowed his head in apology. "It's just that I know being called that hurts her feelings."

"That is of no concern to me."

"I… I just thought you might be able to sympathize with her. I know it hurt you when your classmates called you names Moka-sama."

He was not surprised when her slap came knocking him down. She had told him about some of her experiences in middle school in order to help him understand exactly why her opinion of humans was so low.

"I don't want to hear anything about _sympathy _from a human." She left his room slamming the door behind her.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Starting today you are all going to be taking club activities," Nekonome announced to her homeroom class. "Nothing will better help you to understand human culture and interaction than performing some of their activities in a group."

_Club activities? _Tsukune wondered. "Hmmm, I wonder what I should join," he muttered to himself.

"You will join whatever I do, obviously." Moka said from the seat behind him

_It figures, _he thought.

XXXXXXXXXX

The main halls of the academy were stuffed with temporary stalls and brightly colored banners. People were shouting about the virtues of their individual clubs and eagerly talking to any freshmen who showed interest. Tsukune noted the wide mix of the mundane and bizarre. There were clubs for normal activities that could be found in any high school in Japan such as ping pong, basketball, and cooking. Then there was the ghost photography club, the mummy club, and the science club that was going on about making love potions and strength enhancing monster steroids.

People were still giving Moka the usual respectful treatment, though with the hall packed the way it was there was less open space than usual. As they walked along he spotted five seriously cute girls in bikinis underneath a banner that read, 'Swimming Club.' A particularly lovely girl with a sarong waved at him. "Come try the swimming club, the water is just fine."

Swimming was one of the few activities he was actually good at, and the offer certainly did look inviting. But he knew there was no chance that Moka would ever join. Vampires could not tolerate pure water; it was one of their main weaknesses. So he passed by without saying a word.

"Moka! How wonderful to see you!" A boy hurriedly approached her. Despite the desperate recruitment going on all around them no one had come up to them until now. It seemed no one was too eager to recruit a vampire.

Moka however showed no signs of welcoming this attention. "What do you want Ginei?" She deliberately cracked her knuckles.

The boy noticed and hesitated a bit before continuing. "How would you like to join the newspaper club? I promise it would be fun and I could show you all the tricks to putting out a weekly paper."

"I take it you are part of the club?"

He grinned at her. "I'm the club president and editor actually."

"In that case there is no chance at all I would ever join." She walked past him without further comment.

They continued to trail down the hallway past the various banners and groups. Moka looked at each without giving any sign of what she thought. The recruiters would glance at her and look quickly away if she looked in their direction. They eventually made it all the way to the end of the hall where a fold out table was set up with a small sign.

It read, 'Movie Club.' A single girl with long blonde hair and thick glasses stood there in front of the table nervously. When Moka looked in her direction the girl gulped and was clearly frightened. But still took a timid step forward and held her face up to look back at Moka.

"He… hello, my name is Shinobu, wou…would you be interested in joining the movie club?"

Moka looked back calmly at the girl, her face a mask like usual. "Perhaps," Moka finally replied. "How many members does your club have?"

"It… it's just me," she answered trying not to shrink under those red eyes. "I ne… need to get at least two more members or the club will be shut down."

"And what activities does your club perform?" Moka asked coolly.

"Well we… we mostly watch movies from both the human and monster realms and dis… discuss them. We… we also make a movie that we show at the cultural festival."

"Sounds like fun," Tsukune noted.

Moka looked at him and lifted a single eyebrow.

"Plus with only three members it would be easy to get along; don't you think Moka-sama?"

"Perhaps," she said carefully considering. "How much time does this club require?"

"It… it doesn't take that much," Shinobu answered cautiously. "We would normally meet once a week for a few hours to watch a film and then discuss it afterward. During summer break all the club members would be expected to spend two weeks together to work on the movie production."

Moka carefully considered that. It would not take too much time and watching movies together and perhaps making one did not seem too unpleasant. She finally gave a simple nod. "Very well, my familiar and I will join."

XXXXXXXXXX

"I think I'll like being part of this club Moka-sama."

"I am relieved to hear that you approve," Moka answered sardonically.

Having made their choice they were heading back to the dorms. On the way they were surprised to come across a small crowd pointing and laughing. In the middle of the crowd was Yukari. She was surrounded by five boys who were playing a game of, 'keep away' with her wand. The little girl was desperate to get it back as she could not work magic without it. And without her magic she was a helpless eleven year old surrounded by monsters who did not like her.

Seeing the girl surrounded and being mocked by others reminded Moka of some of her own experiences. She knew all too well what it was like to be alone and helpless while everyone mocked you. She _did _feel a little sympathy, but she could not interfere. For a vampire to come to the aid of a witch was beneath her. So she looked the other way and deliberately continued up the road.

She took several steps before realizing Tsukune was no longer following her.

XXXXXXXXXX

One of the boys held the wand out over his head, dangling it for her like a carrot. "Aw come on, don't you want it?"

Yukari was already crying. She hated this, being ganged up on and made to feel helpless. All she wanted was to be left alone. It wasn't her fault she was born a witch. "Please just give it back!"

The boy was about to say something when a vicious punch hit him in the kidney doubling him over and making him drop the wand.

Compared to a vampire Tsukune's strength was not much. But compared to most of the monsters present it was nothing to be laughed at. "You heard her, give it back." Tsukune said angrily. He swiftly picked up the wand and handed it back to Yukari. He turned to face the five boys who had been tormenting his tutor. "What the hell are you doing picking on a little girl?"

The boy he had hit staggered up to his feet and let out a loud hiss. "Who the hell are you?"

One of his friends had a nasty laugh. "He's the vampire's dog, can't you tell by his collar and he's always following her around like a good little puppy."

"Is that so?" The original boy questioned. "Better run away while you can dog or we might decide to eat you. What we do with that brat is none of your business."

"I'm not a brat! I'm a student just like the rest of you! Desu!"

"You're no monster!" The boy snapped angrily. "Go back to where you belong!"

"She's the best student at the academy," Tsukune argued. "Doesn't that mean she belongs here?"

"Her kind don't belong here," the boy hissed. He nodded to the others and as one they began to slowly approach them. "We'll get rid of her, one way or another."

"If you want to try and protect her we'll get rid of you too." One of the others promised.

Tsukune pushed Yukari behind him. "If you want to hurt her you'll have to go through me, I'll protect her no matter what!"

Yukari looked up at him and felt her heart fill with happiness. Other than her parents no one had even tried to protect her.

"Then you can die right along with her."

"You dare threaten one who bears the seal of House Akashiya?!" A furious voice shouted bringing the five boys to an instant halt. They froze in place as a massive killer intent filled them with terror. "No one may harm my familiar but me! Know your place!"

Moka flew at them breaking teeth and bones as she viciously beat them down. The crowd that had been watching remained in place as they witnessed the vampire's power.

After making very short work of them she turned to a relieved Tsukune and Yukari.

"Moka-sama thank you for…" he was cut off as her slap knocked him down and made him taste blood.

"Idiot!" She screamed. "What were you doing getting involved in this?!" She stood over him and balled her fists. "Get up!"

Tsukune pushed off the ground and got slowly to his feet. Yukari dashed in between him and his master. "Please don't hurt him! He was just trying to protect me! If you have to hurt someone please hurt me, but leave Tsukune alone."

"It's all right Yukari," he carefully pushed her out of the way and faced Moka. "I know what I did and I would do it again. Please punish me as you like Moka-sama, but I will protect Yukari whenever she needs it."

Moka's hand flew and slapped him again. Tsukune was surprised that it lacked the usual strength; he was able to remain standing. "You pick a strange time to find your courage Tsukune! Are you really saying that you will protect Yukari no matter what?"

"Yes Moka-sama, if she needs help I can't just look the other way. No matter how you punish me I will keep helping her no matter what."

Still looking furious Moka began to shake her head. "Idiot! You're more trouble than you're worth. If it weren't for how delicious your blood is I'd get rid of you." She stopped and deliberately looked out at the crowd watching her. "Since I can't have my familiar getting into fights all the time I suppose I have no choice but to place the little witch under my protection as well."

"Huh?" Tsukune gasped.

"Desu?"

"You're not leaving me any choice are you? But rest assured I will be punishing you for your stupidity and obstinacy. Nevertheless," she looked back out at the crowd. "The witch Yukari is under my protection from this moment on, anyone who harms her will answer to me."

Heads began to bob up and down. The word would spread quickly.

"Tha… thank you," Yukari said quietly. "You… you're much nicer than I thought, desu."

Moka looked at her coldly. "Don't mistake me, I did this only because it would be annoying to constantly have to come to my idiot familiar's rescue. This has nothing at all to do with kindness."

"Maybe not," Yukari told her. "But I am still grateful."

XXXXXXXXXX

"No dinner for you tonight," she told them once they returned. "That will be your punishment, and **never **do this again Tsukune. I don't need a familiar starting fights no matter what the reason."

Nodding he bowed low to her. "Thank you for protecting Yukari, Moka-sama."

She frowned at him. "You don't need to thank me; it is not as though I did it as a favor to you. Now go prepare my bath."

"Yes, Moka-sama." He readied her bath, smiling he did so.


	5. The Power of the Press

"Ah, excuse me, but, could I join you?"Yukari asked warily. It was Sunday night and Moka and Tsukune were seated together having dinner. As always they had the table to themselves. Yukari was the first person to ever approach and ask about eating with them.

"Well I certainly don't mind," Tsukune said. "What do you think Moka-sama?"

The vampire looked over at the little witch with a slight frown but finally ended up giving a slight shrug. "It is fitting I suppose given she is also under my protection. I have no objection if she wants to eat with us."

"Yeah!" Yukari shouted and immediately took a seat next to Tsukune.

Tsukune looked at her and laughed. It was good seeing her in such a good mood after seeing her crying last week. Now that Moka had put her under her protection Yukari seemed a much livelier and happier person.

Tsukune was in a pretty good mood himself. Today had been his day off. As usual he had gotten a wad of cash from Moka and instructions to, 'enjoy himself.' He had wandered about campus a bit enjoying the warm weather. He had gone to the cliffs and looked out at the ocean for awhile. He had thought about going to the pool but eh swim club seemed to have it occupied and he decided not to bother them. He had gone to the library and actually _read _for enjoyment. (Back in his middle school days he would never have thought that possible.) He had also called home and spoken with his parents. The school actually had old fashioned rotary phones that could be used to dial out to the real world. He had spoken to mom and dad and assured them he was doing well and everything was going fine.

Needless to say he didn't tell them even a tenth of what he was actually going through. He sometimes imagined telling them _everything. _He liked to think about what they would be the least like to believe. That he was at a school populated by monsters. That he was now the personal property of a very scary, very short tempered vampire. Or that he was living with a beautiful girl who he got to see naked every single morning and evening and whom he was allowed to scrub down.

He would bet that the last would be the hardest for his parents to ever accept.

"Hey Tsukune!" Yukari called to him. "Want to have a bite of my fish?"

"Sure," he said. He opened his mouth and let her feed him a bit.

Click. Click. Click.

Tsukune looked over to see a girl with a camera in hand. As soon as she saw him look in her direction she ducked out of the cafeteria.

_Hmmm, I wonder what that was about. _Well it didn't seem very important. "Thanks Yukari it was very good."

The little girl preened happily as though she'd been the one to cook it for him.

"Tsukune," a sharp commanding tone called.

He looked across to Moka. "Yes Moka-sama?"

With her chopsticks she held out a piece of beef. "Try this," she ordered.

Tsukune was surprised, but also pleased as he ate the food she was holding out to him. "Thank you Moka-sama, it's delicious."

Moka nodded and made no comment.

For some reason Yukari looked rather annoyed.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was Monday morning and they were heading off to class like usual.

"We should be getting out math tests back today," Moka noted. "You had better have shown some improvement."

"Yes Moka-sama," he answered. He wasn't _too _worried. With Yukari's help he was sure he did pretty well.

As they neared the academy they saw a small crowd gathered outside the gate around a table. Three freshmen girls were handing out newspapers.

"Get the Youkai Times! The school newspaper dedicated to telling all the truth fit to print!" A shapely blonde girl called out.

"Looks like the school paper has finally released its first edition," Tsukune noted.

"That does not interest me," Moka stated and continued directly towards the school gate.

"Read all about the love secrets of the sensuous vampire! Read about the hidden wants and desires of the vampire!" A hot redhead announced.

Moka ground to a sudden halt and her disbelieving eyes shot towards the redhead. "There had better be another vampire at his school or Ginei is a dead monster."

Tsukune fought to hold back a smile that he knew would earn him a beating. Seeing her reaction to something so ridiculous was really funny.

A third girl appeared holding up a paper. Tsukune recognized her as the one with the camera from yesterday. The really cute brunette held up the paper and started shouting. "Read all about the vampire familiar and his forbidden lollicon desires. Read about the familiar with the lollicon yearnings!" There on the front page was an image of a smiling Yukari feeding him.

"What the hell?!" Tsukune shouted.

He followed right behind Moka as she stormed toward the three soon to be mauled freshmen girls. The crowd instantly parted and got out of her way. But as Moka approached the three girls a nervous Nekonome suddenly appeared.

"Akashiya-san, I hope you're not about to start trouble are you?"

"Sensei, what are you doing here?" Moka demanded.

"I happen to be the faculty advisor for the newspaper club. Gin asked me to be here in case you, ah, objected to this edition's main story."

"Object?" Moka howled. "I'll do more than object! I'll put everyone who had anything to do with this in the hospital! Starting with that cowardly werewolf! Where is Ginei?!"

"Gin–sempai isn't here right now," the blonde girl said.

"He had other really important duties to take care of," the redhead told her.

"Oh I'll just bet he did the coward! Fine, I'll start with you three!"

"Akashiya-san you can't do that!" Nekonome's tail was twitching like mad as she got between eh girls and Moka. In the human world you can't simply attack a newspaper because you object to what they say about you! Only Yakuza do things like that!"

"Obviously these yakuza are a sensible bunch," Moka stated.

"The Chairman has specifically declared that he wants all school clubs to be allowed to function freely," Nekonome stated. "If you interfere with their club activities I will have no choice but to bring you before the Chairman."

"The Chairman would certainly side with me!"

"Then please bring your objections to him, but do not attack the club." Nekonome said.

"Fine," Moka growled and promptly left to go to the Chairman's mansion, forgetting all about school.

As Tsukune followed her the brunette girl grabbed his sleeve and handed him a paper. "Please enjoy it," she said with a wink.

He thought about throwing it back at her but decided to hold onto it. He might as well see what sort of lies were being printed.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tsukune had never met the Chairman before. The only other time he'd even seen him had been during the opening ceremonies. He was a mysterious figure tot eh students and even the teachers seemed to know little about him. He was rarely seen and hard to speak to. Somehow he was not surprised that Moka was able to get an immediate meeting with him or that he was allowed to be present. As a familiar he really was treated as almost an extension of Moka's body. It might have been his imagination, but Tsukune thought the Chairman looked at him for a second with an odd amount of interest.

What surprised Tsukune the most was the result of the meeting.

"I am afraid you will simply have to endure it Moka," the chairman told her with a hidden grin. "Think of it as a character building exercise."

"This is ridiculous!" She shouted.

"Please lower your voice and moderate your tone or I will have to ask you to leave."

Tsukune fully expected to see Moka begin beating on the man for talking to her like that. Instead, to his surprise, she nodded and continued in a calmer demeanor. "I… apologize, however I cannot accept being publicly ridiculed."

"In the human world even the mighty and the famous are ridiculed," he stated. "You need to learn how to deal with this. In any case I will not close down the newspaper club or try to modify them. And should you attempt to interfere with tem I will be forced to expel you. And I know your father would be very disappointed should that happen."

For the very first time he thought he saw Moka look a bit scared.

In the end she was forced to admit defeat and return to class.

XXXXXXXXXX

In the halls and during lunch students seemed to keep looking over at Moka more than usual. They had protracted, whispered conversations and more than a few laughed quietly while looking in her direction. No one had quite enough courage to actually come up to her and say anything though.

During lunch the three of them were sitting together, Moka was finally reading the actual article that had been written about her. It was beneath a picture of her with her hands all over Gin. It _did_ sort of look like she was pulling Gin close to perhaps kiss him. What the picture didn't reveal was that in the next couple of seconds she would up slamming into the ground and stomping on him.

"'The vampire Moka struggles with her intense attraction to this paper's editor Morioka Ginei. Hopefully in the near future she will be able to resolve her internal struggle and embrace and admit her true passions.' Moka quoted. She looked angry enough to spit nails. "I really begin to wonder if Ginei has some sort of death wish."

"What about me Moka-sama?" Tsukune asked plaintively. "This article about me makes it sound like I'm a total lollicon wanting to have sex with little girls!"

"Would that be so bad?" Yukari asked under her breath.

Tsukune looked over at her. "What was that?"

"Nothing!" She said quickly. Knowing Moka was suspicious of her Yukari didn't dare reveal the fact she was in love with Tsukune and wanted him to make her a woman.

"I agree the article about you is also a problem," Moka stated. "After all having a perverted familiar reflects badly on me."

"I think you're missing the main point here Moka-sama." Tsukune said.

XXXXXXXXXX

The highlight of the day turned out to be getting their teats back in math. Moka scored a 96 while Tsukune got an 88. Moka was well pleased. As they were leaving school Gin was waiting out by the gate.

"Mind if I have a word with you alone Moka?" He asked with a triumphant grin.

She turned to Tsukune. "Wait here."

"Yes Moka-sama." He remained where he was and watched the two of them head off into the woods.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Asking to be alone with me after defaming me as you have," Moka said stiffly. "I give you credit for your courage at least."

"You can't enjoy life without the occasional gamble," he said. "The trick is to know when to take risks and when to play it safe."

"Well you are taking a very grave risk right now," Moka told him. "Now what did you want to discuss?"

"You went to the Chairman to try and have me shut down," It was not a question. "Since the storm troopers haven't shown up I know he sided with me."

"He told me I could not interfere with the functions of your club," she admitted.

"That's what I thought," Gin confirmed. "In that case maybe you'd be open to a little deal?" He had a lecherous look in his eye and gaze openly dropped from her face to her chest.

Despite her instinct to just whale the stuffing out of him she held back to allow him to finish talking. "Just what sort of deal?"

"Simple, you become my obedient woman and I'll make sure nothing else is ever written about you again." He said happily. "I can't have my woman being dragged through the papers can I? So what do you say?"

"Is this what you had in mind from the start?" She asked him with her anger slowly mounting. "To use the paper simply to try and compel me to date you?"

"Well you didn't leave me much choice did you? I mean nothing else was working. When I set my sights on a girl I want I never give up until I get her."

Moka slowly began shaking her head. "You actually believe there is _anything _you could write about me in your scandal rag that could actually _force _me to date you? Ginei you are an even bigger fool than I had ever thought possible." She bared her fangs and released her full killer intent. "How about I give you next week's headline?"

Gin was slowly backing up and had a very bad feeling in his stomach. "Ah, that's okay."

"Actually I insist. The title would read, 'Vampire breaks every bone in perverted werewolf's body for spreading lies about her.'"

Gin began sweating. "Ah… you know what Moka; I really don't need to write any more stories about you. Why don't we just call the whole thing off?"

Her answer was to slam her foot into the middle of his face breaking his nose. "Know your place!!" She shouted and began to deliver a very thorough beating.

XXXXXXXXXX

By the size of the dust being kicked up and the volume of Gin's screams Tsukune could guess that on a scale on one to ten the beating he was receiving would be about a 17.

When Moka finally came back out the woods she looked perfect except for having some blood on her shoes.

"He has promised not to write any more articles about either of us." Moka announced calmly.

"I am glad he was so reasonable Moka-sama."

A very tiny grin touched her features. "You would be amazed just how reasonable people will become when you threaten to feed their own arms to them."


	6. The Shopping Trip

They were sitting together in room 212 which was designated for the movie club's use. Moka, Tsukune, and Shinobu were sitting in the dark watch a DVD playing on a 48 inch television screen. There was a large bowl of popcorn and they each had drinks.

As the final scene faded out and the credits began to roll Shinobu got up to turn on the lights. "So what did you think of, 'Cry of the Vampire Hunter 4; Von Helsing's Revenge.'"

"Ah, it actually reminded me of a typical slasher movie except of course for the, 'monster.'" Tsukune noted. The film had basically been a straightforward horror picture where a bunch of good looking teenagers are somehow isolated and then brutally killed one by one. Until at the very end when the last girl and guy discover the monster's hidden weakness and seem to kill him. The effects were pretty good and it wasn't the worst horror flick he'd ever seen. What had been weird was that the, 'helpless victims' were all different monsters including the female heroine who was a vampire. The 'monster' had been a supposed human named Von Helsing who spent all his screen time talking about how much he hated monsters when he wasn't actually butchering them.

"Was Von Helsing actually supposed to be human?" Tsukune asked curiously. "I mean he gets stabbed in the heart, burned, crushed, and keeps right on going. Then he gets shot by a bullet and _that's _what kills him? The director does know humans aren't really like that, right?"

Shinobu nodded appreciatively. "That's a good point Tsukune. Just like in movies from the human realm the ones from the monster realm naturally take dramatic license and make their villains as powerful as the story calls for. I mean the monsters in human movies are never portrayed accurately either."

"There is one difference," Moka noted coolly. "Humans don't believe monsters to be real. One could hardly expect them to be accurately portrayed in that case."

Shinobu nodded. "That's also a good point." The girl had been skittish at first but had grown used to Moka's presence. It also helped that Moka treated her as a sempai within the confines of the club. She did not require the normal level of deference from Shinobu. Friday nights were movie nights. They came together and watched a film selected by Shinobu. These sessions were relaxed and pretty enjoyable as the three of them got along fairly well.

"Overall what did you think of it Moka?" Shinobu asked.

Moka hesitated just a little before answering in a low voice. "It was rather scary."

Tsukune's head snapped around to look at her.

"What?" She growled at him. "I'm a vampire; _of course _I would find vampire hunters scary!"

He couldn't keep from grinning. "Yes Moka-sama."

"If you laugh Tsukune be prepared to lose your life."

XXXXXXXXXX

Following their club activities they headed home.

"Tomorrow is Saturday," Moka noted as they were walking. "We will be going shopping."

"Shopping?" He said in surprise. "You mean at the campus bookstore Moka-sama?" Usually if she required something she would simply send him to get it.

"We will not be shopping here at the academy. We will be leaving to go somewhere else."

"We're leaving the academy?" He said startled.

She frowned at him. "There is no reason to be so excited. We will simply be making a short trip to another local."

"But Moka-sama I thought it was against the rules to leave the academy until we graduate."

"It is only against the rules to go to the human world," she stated. "Going to other places is perfectly fine."

"So, we're going to a monster world Moka-sama?"

"We're going to a hidden place controlled by monsters," she clarified. "There is only one earth. What we refer to as the human world is simply the majority of the world which is ruled over by the humans. Monsters are forced to survive in hidden locations in out of the way places where magical barriers keep them invisible to human sight, just like at this academy."

Tsukune nodded, he had assumed that there were other alternative worlds out there ruled over by vast hordes of monsters. The truth was much more prosaic, small isolated outposts where monsters could continue to exist.

"Moka-sama, there's something I've been curious about."

"Yes?"

"Given just how powerful vampires and other monsters are compared to us humans, how did we end up getting control of the world?"

Moka shook her head in mild disgust as she answered. "While it is true a vampire and other sorts of monsters are far more powerful than humans could ever be that is only the case in a one to one comparison. Comparing the _races _you discover humans have two great advantages over all others. You have the ability to adapt and have lots of children."

"What? Moka-sama how could that be an advantage?"

"Humans have always outnumbered monsters," Moka stated. "Just as there are always more sheep then there are wolves. A wolf can take down a single sheep with ease. But what could he do if he were faced by a thousand of them willing to fight? Similarly a vampire faced by those kinds of odds would have to flee or perish. Then there is he human ability to adapt and come up with solutions to problems. You learn and figure out what works and what doesn't. My people might be powerful but we are not without our weaknesses. Once humans learned we were vulnerable to water and to crosses with great spiritual power they used these weak points against us. The reason I fear vampire hunters is because they are real and they exist just as vampires do." She gave him an annoyed look as though _he _were to blame for that.

"Through the centuries humans have hunted down and killed monsters where ever they found them. Just think of your fables and myths. Jack and the beanstalk, killing a giant. Little red riding hood, killing a werewolf. Read Greek myths sometime and you will find the, 'heroes' massacring everything from cyclopses to harpies to minotaurs. Eventually monsters realized they could not survive living openly. We were left with only two alternatives, 'coexistence' or hiding from human sight. That is how we have come to the world as it is today."

Tsukune said nothing else on the way back. He had never thought to look at things from the monster perspective. Living at place where he could be killed just for being human and being the personal property of a scary vampire he had naturally seen the monsters as the ones with power. While that was certainly true locally, the fact was they were the ones forced to adapt to humanity just to survive. Given the history Moka had just described he now better understood why so many monsters feared and hated humans.

XXXXXXXXXX

They had ridden bike through the tunnel that led to the academy. He had followed close behind her and they had wound up here. Here being what looked like a huge outdoor shopping district with hundreds of different places of business.

"This is Mononoke Arcade," Moka told him. Many of the customers and shopkeepers appeared human, but perhaps a third were various monsters appearing in their true forms. "There are supermarkets, general stores, barbers, specialty shops, mini-theaters, and even shopping centers. You can get just about anything here."

"And what have we come here to buy Moka-sama?"

XXXXXXXXXX

"So what do you think of these?" Moka asked him displaying the cream colored open toed pumps for him.

He had to suppress a groan. _Why? Why did it have to be shoe shopping? Couldn't she have just beaten me up and left me in my room? _"I think they're very nice Moka-sama."

She looked at them consideringly. "I don't really like them." She put them back on the rack. After searching for a bit she selected some pale lemon colored flats. "What about these?"

"They're very nice Moka-sama."

She looked at them with a critical eye. "I don't like them."

He ground down his teeth to keep from screaming.

XXXXXXXXXX

After a few tortuous hours of shoe shopping and several purchases they moved onto the clothing stores. Seeing the way she delighted in trying on different outfits and the things she tried on surprised him. Though she had a short temper and tended to be violent she had a girly side to her. She was actually much more feminine than his cousin Kyouko, the only other girl around his age he had ever been forced to go shopping with.

He was currently sitting outside the women's changing room with a dozen or so bags. She was trying on yet another outfit.

"Moka-sama, when are you ever going to wear any of this? The only thing you ever wear is your academy uniform."

"I wasn't wearing my uniform today," she pointed out.

That was true. He'd actually been surprised when she put on a really cute light red dress and coat. "But will you ever wear all these clothes Moka-sama?"

"Probably not," she said without remorse. "So what?"

"If you're never going to wear them why are you buying them in the first place Moka-sama?"

"Why not?" She retorted. "I am enjoying myself and I can afford it. So what does it matter if I never wear any of it?"

"Girls are weird," he muttered softly.

"What was that?!" An angry shout came from the dressing room.

"Nothing Moka-sama! Nothing!"

About five minutes later the curtain drew back and she stepped out.

"Well what do you think?"

His eyes widened a bit. She had on a simple white top with a light blue skirt. He couldn't explain why, but he thought the outfit looked perfect on her. Somehow in his eyes it transformed the scary vampire into just a really cute girl.

"You look really beautiful Moka-sama."

It might have been his imagination, but he thought she looked surprised and pleased for just a second. "What? Not just 'nice?'" She inquired.

Smiling he shrugged. "What can I say Moka-sama? I like the way you look in that."

"As though your opinion actually matters to me." She stepped back in to try something else.

He did notice though that it was one of the many outfits she ended up buying.

XXXXXXXXXX

They bought perfume, tea, hats, herbs, scented candles and all manner of other items. He wound up being buried under a small mountain of purchases. If it were not for his enhanced strength he would have had difficulty carrying it all. Moka of course kept her hands free; this was one of the perks of having a familiar after all.

The sun was starting to set by the time they were ready to go. As they were leaving Mononoke Arcade though he spotted a shop selling something he wanted to get.

"Moka-sama, may I go back and buy something?" he asked her when they reached their bikes.

She frowned at him and he expected she would tell him no. "Very well, but be quick and don't keep me waiting long."

"Thank you Moka-sama," he carefully set the packages down and hurried.

She watched him go and was mildly curious what he was planning to buy. She guessed it would probably be some electronic toy or maybe porn, he was a boy after all.

XXXXXXXXXX

"You like lilies don't you Moka-sama?" He handed her a dozen stunning snow white lilies. "I saw a flower shop as we were leaving and I wanted to see if they had any."

She took the flowers from him not sure what to say. "If I wanted flowers I would have bought some." She said coolly.

"I know that Moka-sama, I… I just thought you might like them."

"I suppose this is your way to curry favor?" She asked him frostily.

"I… I guess was hoping they would make you smile Moka-sama."

She didn't give him what he had hoped for as her face remained blank except for some slight annoyance. "Idiot," she muttered. "Well since you've already bought them I suppose I'll have to accept them. They will look nice in my room at least. Now let's go, I'll need you to put my things away."

"Yes Moka-sama," he answered stoically.

XXXXXXXXXX

She placed the lilies in the basket at the front of her bike. As before she led the way and Tsukune followed her. He pedaled after her unable to see anything other than her back

As they rode back she looked down at the flowers he had gotten for her… and smiled.


	7. The End of the Semester

The end of the semester was fast approaching. To Tsukune the simple fact he had somehow survived to this point was something of a miracle. In one way his first semester at Youkai Academy could even be considered a real success. The grades from the final examinations were all in. For the first time in his life the incredibly average and mediocre Aono Tsukune had gotten straight A's. His parents had been both shocked and ecstatic at the news. They were already going over lists of universities their son could apply for once he graduated. Needless to say mom and dad were congratulating themselves, obviously getting their son into this school had been the best decision they had ever made. They didn't even complain about not being allowed to visit or about his not being allowed to return home until he graduated. So far as they were concerned the academy was a godsend and they would happily comply with its strict rules.

If they had only known.

He supposed that just the fact he hadn't gotten into any real trouble since standing up for Yukari could also be seen as a success. He noticed that violence was taken for granted here at the academy on a scale that no human school would have ever tolerated. Fights between students were a daily occurrence. Sometimes they were over a girl or over some words. Just as often they were to establish the academy's 'pecking order' of who was stronger than whom. Moka was not the only one who was obsessed about knowing one's place. He'd seen some of Kurumu's 'boyfriends' beat each other bloody while she looked on. She said she was looking for someone who was monster enough to be her mate. The boys who followed her were always willing to try and prove their toughness to her and she always watched with an approving grin.

He _really _did not like that girl.

Beyond ordinary fights there had been a few murders and more than a dozen cases of students gone missing. Several attractive girls had vanished, the only thing they seemed to have had in common was an art class they all shared. But how, or even if, that mattered no one knew. There were murky rumors about a gang of half breed monsters calling themselves Anti-thesis. No one seemed to know how large they were or how dangerous, but their members were causing more and more trouble. Almost as scary were the members of the Student Police Committee who were supposed to safeguard the campus and maintain the peace. They were elitists who walked around in custom made black school uniforms and seemed to enjoy intimidating other students. Their leader, a scary guy named Kuyou, had approached Moka about joining their ranks. She had sneered and told him such things were beneath her concern. Kuyou had looked offended, but had gone and not asked again.

In a human High School a student going missing or actually being found dead would have definitely caused class to be suspended at least one day and led to a major disruption in school life. Here there would be announcement over the P.A. and probably something in the school paper, but that was it. Murder and disappearances didn't seem to cause a ripple in the daily routine. He wondered if that just mean that monsters were just naturally more barbaric than humans.

When he'd asked Moka about that he'd gotten a hot answer.

"Do you really believe that just because your little corner of the world was peaceful it's like that everywhere?" She had demanded. "Do you suppose that in parts of Africa and Latin America everyone gets to have the same tranquil existence? Death and violence are a part of nature, and that is just as true of humans! You're just better at pretending violence is the exception rather than the rule."

"I don't think humans are naturally violent," Tsukune protested.

"Tell that to all the monsters that have been exterminated over the centuries." She shot back. "For that matter if humans are so peaceful how have you managed to have **two **World Wars? Believe me, if humans were the peaceful creatures you like to pretend this academy wouldn't exist and monsters wouldn't have to hide."

Whenever he asked her a question like that he always wound up getting a completely different view point. It was soon after that when Moka began training him.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Tsukune are you all right?" A worried Yukari asked. Even though the semester was almost up she still came by to tutor him and help him get a jump on next semester. What had her upset at the moment was a huge bruise taking up most of his right cheek.

"Heh, don't worry Yukari," Tsukune reassured. "I heal fast. It'll be gone by morning."

"That Moka is so mean! Desu! Every time I start thinking she might not be so bad she hurts you!"

"Moka-sama wasn't being mean or punishing me," Tsukune told her. "She was training me how to fight." He gave off a weak laugh. "Since the academy is dangerous she wants to make sure I can protect myself when she's not around."

"Even so does she have to be so rough that she leaves bruises?!"

"That's just her way of doing things," Tsukune said calmly. "Moka never does anything half way. In her own way she is just trying to help me to become strong."

Yukari shook her head. "I don't understand why you defend her. She's never nice to you! The best I've ever seen is her tolerating you and maybe being polite. And then she'll hit you for some little thing. Why do you defend someone who is so cruel to you?"

"Moka is never cruel." He saw her look at him disbelieving. "Moka is never cruel," he repeated. "She is scary and violent and short tempered, but I've come to realize something about her. She is the most honorable person you will ever meet. She has her own personal code of ethics and does what she believes to be right. Even though she hits me she _never _does it unless she thinks there's a reason. And even then she is never excessive. She does not inflict pain needlessly and she does not go around looking for excuses to hit people. Her violence is always controlled and for a purpose. She believes the world is a hard place and so she has to be even harder. But you know what? I truly think that Moka is a good person at heart."

Yukari shook her head. "I wonder about you sometimes Tsukune."

XXXXXXXXXX

In her room Moka removed the ear piece and shut off her receiver. When she'd had the door originally put in between her room and Tsukune's she'd also gone ahead and put in some listening devices. After all, a familiar had no business keeping any secrets from his master.

"Idiot," she muttered to herself and turned off the lights to go to bed.

XXXXXXXXXX

The last Friday of the semester was only half a day. Most of the students would be catching buses to return home for the summer in the afternoon. Tsukune and Moka would be catching a bus later as well. Since things were already packed Moka decided to be generous and give him a few hours to himself.

With nothing special to do he strolled around the campus for awhile. He then headed out to the cliffs to take a look at the ocean. As he approached he saw someone already standing there. He recognized her immediately. She didn't wear a school uniform, preferring a white and black long sleeve shirt, skirt, and purple striped stockings. She had very long purple hair and as usual she was just standing there gazing out into the ocean.

He'd spotted her here a few other times and had dubbed her the 'cliff girl.' He assumed she had to be a student but he couldn't recall ever seeing her anywhere else around campus. Whenever he'd spot her he'd start walking towards her to try and say hello. But she would always here him coming and run away as fast as she could. He supposed that given the danger of the academy he couldn't really fault her for being scared of a guy approaching her when she was alone.

He decided to try and say hello one more time not expecting anything different. But for whatever reason she didn't seem to hear him this time. He was almost at her side when she suddenly spun around and looked at him with frightened eyes. Her eyes were a pure deep blue, they were a starling rich color that seemed the polar opposite of the red eyes he had grown used to.

He saw her tense and knew she was about to run away again.

He held out his open hands. "Whoa! Please I'm not going to hurt you! I just came here to look out at the ocean."

The girl remained tense and continued to stare at him. She was hesitating about whether or not to run.

"Look, you don't have to go. You were here first, I'll go."

"That… that's okay," she said in a low voice. She had a lollipop and he saw it twitching back and forth in her mouth. "You… you can stay."

"Uhm, alright," he took a place about five feet to her left. Careful to leave her plenty of space. "My name is Aono Tsukune by the way."

She looked at him nervously. "Shirayuki Mizore," she finally said in a voice that was barely audible. She took a couple side steps to put even more room between them and began to stare out at the ocean and deliberately away from him.

Tsukune took the hint and didn't try to say anything more to her.

He deliberately looked at the sea and **not **at her. He definitely got the feeling that if he paid her any sort of attention she would get skittish and run. Normally coming here and looking out at sea gave him a sense of peace. But having the strange girl nearby deliberately not looking at him was bothersome. The silence and the sound of the waves crashing wasn't tranquil, instead it felt strained.

He thought it would be rude to just turn around and leave after having just met someone so he stayed for about fifteen minutes. He looked at her with a polite nod. "Well, maybe I'll see you later."

The girl looked back over at him a little startled. "O… okay," she said warily.

He got going without looking back.

If he had he would have noticed she was staring at him now rather than at the ocean.

XXXXXXXXXX

Being the familiar he was the one to bring down all their luggage to the bus stop. Moka also had him get Shinobu's things as well as the camping equipment, hand held camera, and rolls of film.

"Why are you smiling like a baboon?" Moka asked him sounding annoyed.

"I guess I just like you outfit Moka-sama," he replied. She was dressed in the white and light blue clothes that he had described as beautiful on her.

"Do you? Hmmph, I'd quite forgotten."

"This is going to be so great!" The blonde girl with the thick glasses said happily. "I know this will be an awesome movie!" She had taken on the roles of writer, producer, and director. Moka and Tsukune would be the ones actually acting.

"Speaking of which have you finally finished writing the script?" Moka asked. "Considering we are about to leave to go filming it is rather late."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just wanted to get it perfect before I showed it to you." Reaching into her purse she pulled out two stacks of paper roughly stapled together and handed one to each of them.

"So what kind of movie is this going to be?" Tsukune asked. "I mean what can you make with just two people?"

"A love story!" Shinobu cried joyously. "It's about a vampire who falls in love with a human! I call it, 'The Vampire's Kiss.'"

Moka looked horrified while Tsukune's smile only got wider.


	8. The New Ending

Unfortunately for Tsukune Moka noticed his reaction to the news.

"What the hell are you so happy about?!" Before he could possibly reply a fist slammed into his face. The angry vampire then rounded on Shinobu. "And you!"

"Eek!" The girl stepped back and cowered. She'd been intimidated by Moka from the start but had grown comfortable around her since she was always so well behaved during club time. This was her first time seeing Moka's anger. "Wha… what?"

"Where did you get such a repulsive idea? A vampire in love with a _human? _Disgusting! I'll have nothing to do with it!"

"Bu… but, it's a natural…"

"I don't care!" Moka roared. "Write something else!"

"I ca… can't," Shinobu said fearfully. "I… I've been working on this since the two of you joined the club. It… it's taken this long to finally get the script done. If I try to do something new it will be terrible."

Tsukune slowly came back to his feet clutching his aching jaw. "Moka-sama, would it really be so bad?"

"Of course it would!" She howled. "You expect me to go through the pretense of being in love with a disgusting human?!"

_Disgusting? _Tsukune thought. _After all this time is that how she sees me?_

"But… but… it doesn't start out that way," Shinobu said trying to appease her. "In the story you come across a lone human backpacking through the woods on a solo camping trip. Since he's alone and isolated you decide to torment him. You reveal yourself and tell him you're going to kill him when he reaches the end of the woods. Then all through the story you keep appearing suddenly to terrify him and drink some of his blood."

Moka's anger lessened. "Well that sounds like fun," she admitted. "Go on."

"As you meet with him each time though you talk. At first it's just a way to torture him by showing him all the things in his life that are about to be taken away, but slowly you come to understand and care for him. In the final scene he exits the woods and can see a human town in the distance. You suddenly appear and he assumes you are about to kill him. Instead though you confess you have fallen in love with him and decided to spare him! It's soooo romantic don't you think?" She asked hopefully.

Moka frowned at her but did not immediately answer. Instead she took the script and flipped through it. "So basically for most of the movie I am torturing him and playing with his emotions?"

"Well, yes, I guess so. But by the end your character…"

"It's fine then," Moka announced. "All you have to change is the final scene. Instead of confessing and sparing him I'll mock his hopes and then suck him dry." She nodded satisfied with her rewrite. "That's how we'll end it."

"But that's a horrible ending!" Shinobu protested. "It doesn't show any growth or forgiveness or understanding! That just makes the whole thing an exercise in cruelty!"

"How else would a vampire treat a human?" Moka demanded. "It's not as though a vampire could ever really care about such a creature! Love a human? The very thought sickens and offends me! The idea is revolting! They're all cattle! They exist to serve and to be fed upon and nothing more!"

Tsukune listened to every word.

"But…" Shinobu tried to protest.

"It's fine Shinobu," Tsukune said quietly. "If that's what Moka-sama wants then that's what we should do."

Moka nodded her head satisfied. Shinobu gave in seeing it would be pointless to argue any further.

XXXXXXXXXX

The bus finally arrived and the bus driver took them away.

Traveling through the tunnel they emerged into a pitch black landscape. The ride suddenly got rough as the bus seemed to run into an endless series of potholes.

"Where have we come to? The moon?" Moka asked in annoyance.

"Ah, sorry, there aren't any paved roads in this part of the back country," Shinobu apologized.

The bus continued on climbing the dirt road up along the side of a steep wooded hill. Eventually its headlights lit up a weather beaten sign; 'Welcome to Wormwood, Arkansas. Population 550.'

The bus came to a halt near the top of the hill surrounded by a mess of rundown homes and trailers. As the three of them exited the bus Tsukune silently began unloading things. Curious faces came to the door and windows surrounding them to peer out. They were all human faces, but Moka could tell by their scents that they weren't human.

"Just what is this place?" Moka asked as she turned up her nose.

"Ah, this is my hometown," Shinobu explained. "Wormwood, also secretly known as the hidden world of the goblins."

"Goblins? So that's what you are?" Moka asked.

She nodded shyly. Goblins were among the lowest of the monster races. Short, stumpy, ugly looking creatures, their sole redeeming trait was their great physical strength. They were looked down upon by most other monsters as a race of dumb brutes.

Moka looked about curiously. "Is this place hidden by a magical barrier?"

Shinobu shook her head. "We rely on being out of the way. There are no paved roads within twenty miles and no real reason for anyone to come up into these hills. Everyone looks human and we have the same rules here as the academy about humans who come here for any reason."

Tsukune noted it without saying anything.

"We're surrounded by woods on every side and since I grew up here I know the place like the back of my hand," Shinobu told them. "We'll be camping most of the time while we hit all the most scenic spots for filming."

"Shi… Shinobu?" A homely blonde woman slowly approached them.

"Hey mom!" Shinobu said happily. "These are my friends Moka and Tsukune!"

Moka lifted one eyebrow slightly at being referred to as a 'friend,' but allowed the comment to pass.

Shinobu's mother stared at Moka, clearly intimidated by the aura of real live vampire. "Well, won't you come with me back to our home? I have dinner ready, though ah there's only one extra bed."

"That is no problem," Moka said. "My familiar can sleep on the floor at my feet."

"Heh, we have sleeping bags so it's no problem," Shinobu said.

Tsukune simply nodded and piled on the luggage and equipment.

XXXXXXXXXX

Shinobu's home turned out to be a little ramshackle four room house and the extra bed was a pull out sofa. They had their dinner and went to sleep. Tsukune woke up early as usual and got Moka up so he could prepare her bath in the house's small tub. After a quick breakfast Tsukune took their camping and filming gear and the three of them set out for the nearby woods.

As they left Wormwood Moka glanced over at Tsukune who was silently following her as she followed Shinobu.

"Is something wrong with you this morning?" Moka asked. "You seem rather quiet. You've been like this since getting on the bus yesterday."

"There's nothing wrong Moka-sama, I feel fine."

She frowned but let the matter drop.

XXXXXXXXXX

Near the edge of town five men in hunter's jacket and jeans silently watched them depart. The biggest of them grinned and looked at his friends. "Boys, let's have ourselves a hunt!"

The others agreed with easy laughter.


	9. The Hunters

The scary vampire bit down savagely on his neck. He let out a cry of pain and tried to push her away. His feeble efforts had no effect at all as he was powerless to keep her from drinking her fill. When she was satisfied she threw him down to the ground.

"Well at least you humans are good for something," she said and licked her lips. "It's almost a shame to kill you."

He remained on the ground looking up at her as he rubbed his neck. "Why?" He asked. "Why are you going to kill me when I've never done anything to you? How can you hate me so much when you'd never even met me until just a few days ago? Where does this hated come from?"

"It comes from knowing the crimes your ancestors committed against mine!" She spat. "Once vampires could live proudly in the open, feeding and ruling over the lands they claimed. But you filthy humans drove us out, killing us, slaughtering us, until only a few remain. And we mighty vampires, most powerful of the monsters, are forced to live in the shadows cast by you humans."

"And are you going to try and pretend you vampires are innocent?" He asked bravely and struggled to his feet. "Why wouldn't we fight creatures who drink our blood and rule over us as slaves? If you're any example I can understand why people would want to kill you."

Her hand snapped out and grabbed him by the neck. "Shut up! I was going to let you live until you reached the edge of the forest. Do you prefer I end you here and now?"

Despite being powerless he looked her straight in the eye. "What I want is for you to admit that maybe your ancestors weren't blameless in what happened. If you treat people like slaves then of course they will come to hate you. What else would you expect? Maybe if they had been willing to live in peace…"

"Peace?" She cried out. "What? Live side by side together and pretend to be _equals_? The very thought sickens and offends me! You humans are fit only to provide us nourishment and serve us!"

"Then I guess you vampires are doomed then because humans would never accept that!"

"Arrogant," she growled.

"Look at yourself before you say that about anyone else."

She threw him back down. "Say whatever you want human, you will never leave this forest alive!"

"Cut!" Shinobu cried. "That was great! Wow this movie is coming along really well!"

They had been in the woods for a week now shooting scenes for the movie. Both Moka and Tsukune had taken to their roles surprisingly well. Moka came off as an arrogant proud vampire while Tsukune was very believable playing the helpless but still courageous human.

"I'm glad you liked it," Tsukune said and he stood up and dusted himself off. "I'll go and gather some firewood."

"Wait," Moka called.

"Yes Moka-sama?"

"I will aid you in gathering the firewood," she announced.

"That's really not necessary Moka-sama," Tsukune replied.

"Nevertheless, I shall," she said and went with him into the woods leaving Shinobu to make plans for tomorrow's shoot.

XXXXXXXXXX

Out in the wood they were both silent as they gathered sticks and pieces of wood. They were almost done when Moka finally spoke up.

"What is wrong with you Tsukune?" She said in an annoyed tone.

"There is nothing wrong with me Moka-sama," he answered woodenly.

"Then why have you been so listless this entire time?" She demanded. "You have been going through the motions without even a spark of enthusiasm."

He stopped and looked at her coldly. "Does a slave need to be enthusiastic?"

Seeing the look from him surprised her. "You are not an ordinary slave Tsukune, you are my familiar."

"A special slave is still a slave," he answered. "That's really all I am to you, right Moka-sama?"

She frowned, not liking his tone. "Watch how you speak to me Tsukune."

"Or you'll hit me again?" He nodded his head knowingly. "That is what you do every time I say something you don't want to hear."

"I allow you more freedom than anyone else when addressing me," she noted sharply. "I even allow you to ask me all sorts of questions, something I would not permit from any other lower being."

"And there it is," he muttered. "That's still all I am to you isn't it? I'm still nothing but a disgusting human. Someone fit only to serve and give you blood."

"And what is wrong with that?" Moka demanded. "That was always our agreement was it not? Your obedience in exchange for my protection. What reason would you have to complain about it now?"

"If I answer that Moka-sama you'll end up hitting me."

"Fine," she growled. "Speak your mind Tsukune. I give you my word that whatever you say to me I will not punish you for it."

He knew she meant it. She would never break a promise, not even one made to him. "All right Moka-sama, I guess I'm unhappy because I was sort of hoping you had come to like me."

"Like you?" She lifted an eyebrow. "I do like you, you are an excellent servant."

"That's not what I mean," he said. "I don't want to be liked the way you like a favorite pair of shoes. I want you to like me as a person; I want us to become friends Moka-sama. Because… because I like you in that way."

He saw her lips tighten and knew that was a bad sign. Having been close to her for months he could read her expressions like a book.

"Be very glad I promised not to punish you for whatever was said. You want me to _like _you as a friend? What makes you think a vampire has any need for friendship?"

"Didn't you tell me that was the whole reason you suppressed your powers and went to a human school?" He asked. "You wanted to try and be normal and make friends?"

"Yes," she bit off. "I was stupid and naïve and I learned just how idiotic that notion was. Even _if_ I did want that it would only be possible with a vampire or other elite monster. Trying to befriend a human is an act of stupidity. No human could ever really matter to me."

"Including me I guess," he said sadly.

She shook her head. "You keep forgetting your place. You are my familiar and my servant, **nothing **more. And if I am a bit fond of you it is only in that role. Do not imagine that just because I am kind to you from time to time it means anything has or could ever change between us. I am master and you are servant, anything more than that is impossible." With an arm full of firewood she began heading back to camp. "Now stop behaving like a sulky child and return to normal. Give up your silly notions and be satisfied with what you do have."

He watched her go and felt a dull ache in his heart. _I'm such an idiot. _He decided to get a little more wood before heading back too.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Now?" One of the hunters asked.

Zeke looked through the scope of his rifle at his target. "Yup." He pulled the trigger.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tsukune was just about ready to go back when he felt something kick him in his thigh. He saw a spray of blood and there was a sudden stabbing pain as he fell over. He gave a surprised shout.

XXXXXXXXXX

"We get to play?" Gak asked eagerly. The others were all laughing and grunting. This was what they lived for.

Zeke turned his gray bulbous head to them. His tiny black eyes were sparkling. He revealed his long rows of sharp pointed teeth as he smiled. "Yeah, let's go and play."

The goblins howled.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tsukune was just wrapping his mind around the fact he'd been shot when he heard a blood thirsty cry. He didn't need to be a genius to figure out he was in trouble. He stood up, or tried to. As soon as he put and weight on his leg he fell over. Without any choice he began trying to crawl away.

He knew it was hopeless but there was nothing else for him.

He was soon surrounded by five monsters with short squat bodies dressed up like hunters and all carrying rifles.

"We got a law about humans coming to Wormwood," one of them said smiling down at him. As he spoke he chambered a round in his rifle. "Even though you came with Shinobu and with a vampire you're still human ain't ya'? I got a tracker's nose and I can tell."

Because he was shooting the film as a, 'regular' human he wasn't wearing his collar. "I'm the familiar of a vampire and am under her protection."

The goblins all laughed. "That don't mean nothin' out here boy. Our laws are what count. Since you came here you can't ever leave. Me and the boys are just going to have a little fun with ya first." At his nod all of them lifted their rifles to take aim at him. "We're gonna see how many slugs we can put in ya before ya die."

They got no further than that.

"You dare attack my servant?!" A voice boomed. There was a bur as the goblins were beaten and their rifles broken into pieces. "Know your place!"

The fight, if it could even be called that lasted about five seconds. The Moka was at his side kneeling over him looking at his wound. "Are you hurt Tsukune?"

"Heh, not too bad," he lied.

She tore off a piece of her dress and used it to bandage his wound. "Your healing will fix this by morning. Now just rest, as soon as I am done with these idiots I will take you back to camp."

She then approached their leader and lifted him into the air with one hand. "What was the meaning of attacking my familiar?"

The goblin swallowed and spoke carefully to the outraged vampire. "He… he's human. It's our law that no humans can leave Wormwood. Ain't that the same rule at ya fancy school?"

"It is," she replied. "Does this mean the whole goblin village knows he is human?"

He shook his head. "Most goblins ain't got mah nose. Me and my boys don't wanna share the fun so I just told them."

"I see, well that is fortunate. I'll only have to kill you five then."

"Kill? You gonna kill us? But he's jus a dirty human! Why kill us?"

Moka looked back over her shoulder to him. "He is just a human and a very annoying one at that. He constantly forgets his place and needs to be reminded of it."

Tsukune saw her eyes looking into his.

"But even so he is worth a thousand like you. He is very precious to me, and I will do whatever I have to, to protect him." With that she put a hand on his thick neck and with one quick jerk snapped it. The others goblins cried out and tried to run.

None of them got far.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tsukune was being carried on Moka's back.

"When we meet Shinobu remember to tell her they attacked me and you were shot trying to protect your master. No one will question my killing them if they think I was the one attacked."

"Yes, Moka-sama," he answered quietly. She had _killed _and done it for him. "Thank you Moka-sama, thank you for doing that for me, and for saying what you did."

"Don't take any of that the wrong way!" She said with a stern look. "The fact you're worth a thousand like him has more to do with the high quality of your blood than anything else. That's the only real reason I saved you. I just didn't want to lose your blood. **Don't **start getting any more of your foolish notions."

He smiled. "I won't Moka-sama."

They walked a ways before she spoke again.

"I've given it some thought and I've decided to go ahead and do the original ending Shinobu wrote."

"Really Moka-sama? So then we… we'll be kissing?"

"It's not a big deal," she muttered. "We've kissed once before. And even if it is ridiculous to think a vampire could love a human it's only a movie."

Tsukune nodded. "I promise to do my best kissing you Moka-sama. I really look forward to it!"

He wasn't able to see the slight blush on her face as he mentioned how eager he was to kiss her. "Idiot," she muttered.


	10. The Final Scene

He slowly climbed to the top of the hill. The sun was just beginning to set; the sky was a glorious shade of orange with a little red. But more glorious was the sight of a little rural town with a road leading into it, he could even make out the town water tower. It was no more than a few miles away. He was sure he could reach it not too long after sunset.

If only he had the time.

He didn't need to turn around to know she was there. "This is it isn't it? This is where you kill me."

He slowly turned to see her standing there no more than ten feet away. She was eying him calmly.

"Well come on and get it over with" he said. He seemed resigned to his fate and not at all scared.

She slowly walked towards him. "Isn't there anything else you'd like to say first?"

He calmly shook his head. "I don't think begging would do any good, so I won't bother with that."

"So you're trying to, 'be a man' up to the end?" She moved closer to him. Her red eyes never leaving his brown ones.

He shrugged. "Maybe I just want to show you that even a human can have courage."

"You've already shown me that," she replied softly. Standing before him she reached up and took his face gently into her hands. "Whatever I may think of your kind in general _you _have impressed me."

"Well I suppose that's something," he said still somehow calm.

"Vampires aren't only cruel you know," she said suddenly. "We can love. We can love very strongly… if not always wisely." She looked at him, her face cool and empty of all feeling. "What would you say if I told you I had fallen in love with you? What would you ask of me?"

He didn't believe her, he was sure this was her final cruelty, to taunt him with the possibility of life. To give him this one last bit of hope before ending her tiresome game of cat and mouse. "I would ask you to let me go."

She stared long and hard into his eyes.

"If… if I did that I would want you to live a full life. I would never see you again so I would need you to promise me that you wouldn't waste the gift I give you. Follow the dreams you told me about and live every day to the fullest."

He slowly nodded. He knew it was stupid but he was starting to feel just a little bit of hope. "I… I promise, no more wasting my time, no more worrying about the little things. If I live I'll spend every day from here on out celebrating life."

"Did you know that when a vampire grants a blessing it's always with a kiss?" She slowly moved close to him. Her eyes were all he could see. He saw his death in those eyes as well as his salvation. "Close your eyes."

With a deep breath he did so. He waited to feel her fangs bite into him for the final time.

Instead he felt her soft lips touching his. This was her kiss, the vampire's kiss.

When her lips left his he opened his eyes again. She was gone. He looked all around but there was no sign of her. He waited to see if this was some sort of cruel joke. But nothing happened.

Slowly he began going down the hill towards the human town in the distance.

"Cut!" Shinobu shouted. She was shaking her head and looking unhappy. "I'm sorry, but could we try that once more? With just a little more feeling on both of your parts?"

"Again?" Moka questioned. "Have we not done this five times already? Do you really require another?"

"Well this is the last and climatic scene and I really want to get it just right. I know I'm being a pain but will you please do it? Just for me?"

XXXXXXXXXX

**The Day Before**

Moka slowly approached Shinobu. She was well aware that Tsukune was out of the camp gathering firewood.

"Sempai, I have a request to make."

"Yes Moka?"

Looking just slightly uncomfortable the vampire spoke without directly looking at her. "The final scene tomorrow, if, by chance, you require more than one take I will not object."

Shinobu began a slow grin. "So you're wanting to have a whole bunch of kisses with him?"

"I did not say that," Moka corrected her stiffly. "I merely stated that if _you _feel the need to make us repeat the scene I will not be upset."

"I think I understand," Shinobu replied with a huge smile.

"Good, and please do not mention this to Tsukune. He would definitely misunderstand." She quickly walked away as if afraid she might somehow be caught.

XXXXXXXXXX

Moka let out a disgruntled sigh. "I suppose it cannot be helped. I will do it solely because you ask me to."

"Thank you Moka, I appreciate that!" She turned to Tsukune. "What about you Tsukune are you willing to keep going?"

XXXXXXXXXX

**The Day Before**

Tsukune approached Shinobu just after Moka had settled into her sleeping bag.

"Hey Shinobu-chan, could I ask a favor?" He spoke in a low whisper, all too aware of how acute vampire hearing was.

Shinobu looked at him with a grin already on her face. "What is it Tsukune?"

He rubbed the back of his head. "Ah, well, do you think there's any chance you could make us do the final scene more than once?"

She put a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. "You wanting an excuse to kiss her as much as possible?"

He turned a deep red and looked down. "Yeah," he mumbled. "This is probably the last chance I'll ever get to kiss her."

"Oh I wouldn't bet on that," Shinobu said with a giggle.

"Huh?"

"Nothing," she replied. "Trust me I think I can do something."

XXXXXXXXXX

They wound up doing the scene twelve times before Shinobu was finally satisfied.

XXXXXXXXXX

After the final day of shooting they camped out one last night, then hiked all the way back to Wormwood. When they arrived the residents remained locked away in their homes. They'd heard that Zeke and his bunch had actually gone out trying to hunt a vampire. No one thought about revenge, not even the near kin. They all counted themselves lucky that the vampire was willing to stop after killing the five of them.

They spent one night there and the following morning the school bus arrived to pick them up right on schedule.

The three of them returned to a Youkai Academy that was still on summer break and still 90% empty. Shinobu vanished as she had 20 rolls of film to edit into a movie. Moka and Tsukune were left with a great deal of free time on their hands. Moka soon had the ideal way to spend that time.

She was going to use and abuse Tsukune's body to its absolute limit.

XXXXXXXXXX

Her fist slammed into his face sending him crashing back down.

"Ow," he cried. He looked up at her piteously. "I think my liver is bruised."

"Get up," she said not sounding at all sympathetic. "A real enemy would not give you time to rest."

"Moka-sama I really appreciate you wanting to teach me how to fight," he said as he slowly, painfully got back up. "But isn't this a little much?"

"We have six weeks until the fall semester begins," she announced. "I mean to have you fully trained in all the basics by then. You will not be a master by any means, but by that point I would expect you to at least be able to hold your own against any monster below S-class."

He tried to laugh. "Assuming your training doesn't kill me first Moka–sama."

"Naturally," she replied.

He was about to tell her he'd been joking when a kick to his chest sent him sprawling.

XXXXXXXXXX

On the way home that evening Tsukune was bloodied and bruised and his face was just a series of black and blue marks. He wasn't angry with Moka though. He understood that in her own rather brutal way, she was trying to help him.

Neither he nor Moka noticed a presence out in the woods observing them. A pair of hidden blue eyes saw the marks on him and the obvious pain as he walked. Lips turned down as someone drew their own conclusions.

"Aaaah!" Without warning Moka gave a cry of surprise and fell on her ass.

Tsukune ran up to her. "Are you okay Moka-sama?"

"Fine," she said rising back to her feet without accepting the hand he offered her. She was staring at the ground where she had slipped. _Ice? How could there be ice in this heat?_

She decided to chalk it up to just another of the many mysteries of the academy and returned to her room.

XXXXXXXXXX

Despite her determination to train Tsukune she still allowed him Sundays off.

With school not in session Tsukune found even less to do than usual. One bright spot turned out to be that with the swim club members gone home he was able to use the pool.

After some swimming, some reading in the library, and general lazing about he decided to go over to the cliffs to look at the sea.

He was a little surprised, but not disappointed to see the cliff girl wasn't there. That meant he would be able to just relax and look out at the ocean without worrying about what she might be thinking. Staring out at the peaceful waves he wondered how Yukari was doing. The little witch had gone home to spend time with her parents. He hoped she was happy. He missed the little girl, along with Moka and Shinobu she was part of a very small circle of important people for him at this academy. During the semester he had made a number of casual friends. But those three were the only ones he felt he could really talk to, and with Moka that was always with the risk of being hit.

"Hello," a shy voice called.

Startled he turned to see the cliff girl standing there looking at him. She had a lollipop in her mouth and both arms behind her back. She looked nervous and rather cute looking at him with her head slightly bowed.

"Hello," Tsukune called back. "Looks like this time you caught me."

She shyly nodded her head. "Can I watch with you?"

"Sure," he replied.

She slowly came over to stand about five feet away. Though she was definitely still shy he was getting a much different vibe from her than last time. He didn't get the sense that she was on the verge of bolting if he looked at her the wrong way.

"Uh, I'm sorry, but I forgot your name," he admitted.

"It's Mizore," she answered not sounding offended. "You're Tsukune right?"

"Heh, that's right. Now I feel really bad about forgetting your name."

"Don't worry about it," she told him softly. "I know I'm nothing special. Not like you."

"Me?" He blinked at her. "I'm nobody special either."

"That's not so," she replied and pointed to his collar. "You're the vampire's familiar aren't you? Everybody talks about her, Akashiya Moka the proud vampire who's allowed to walk around openly without human disguise. They all say she's violent and cruel, and that she beats you all the time."

"Ah, it's not like that," he said quickly. "I know it may seem that way sometimes, but the truth is she isn't really so bad."

Mizore titled her head a bit as she stared at him. "I can still see some of your bruises," she told him softly. "She hits you all the time doesn't she?"

"Ah, these are just from training with her," he explained.

She continued to stare at him. "You don't need to make up lies to protect her," she said softly. "I… I can understand what it's like to be weak and to have someone stronger abuse you. You don't need to be ashamed."

He frowned at her. "Please don't talk about Moka-sama that way, it's not abuse its training."

She looked at him sadly. "If you say so."

"It is," he insisted.

She simply nodded.

He looked back out at the ocean and away from the strange girl. She was making him feel uncomfortable again, but for a whole different reason this time. Was that how most people saw his relationship with Moka? Did they really think he was just being abused by her?

"You were gone when summer break started," Mizore suddenly began speaking again. "I thought you'd gone home."

"I went on a club trip," he told her. "My home is actually in the human world so I can't go back until I graduate. What about you?"

"I could have gone back to be with my mom," she said. "But I was afraid that if I went I'd never come back again."

"Why wouldn't you come back?" He asked curiously.

She looked away from him and back out at the sea. "I've been very lonely," she confessed. "I'm not good at being social and… and the person I tried the hardest to get close to… he turned out to be a bad person."

"It happens sometimes," he told her. "Not everyone here is a nice person."

"Are you?" She asked quietly.

"What?"

She looked back over at him. "Are you a nice person? You seem like one, but I've been wrong before. At least you're a weak person and I can understand that."

"Well, I guess I am sort of weak, but I don't see that as something to be proud of."

"But it is," she said seriously. "It means you're a survivor. It's easy to get through when you're strong. But to manage even when there are stronger people all around you. That… that's sort of brave don't you think?"

"I never really thought if it that way," he said. "To be honest I'm trying to become strong to be able to protect the important people in my life."

"Even the vampire?" She asked.

"Especially Moka," he replied.

"But wouldn't you be better off if she was gone?" Mizore asked serenely.

Tsukune shook his head. "No, I definitely wouldn't be happy if anything happened to her."

Tsukune saw the lollipop in her mouth twitch back and forth as Mizore seemed to have trouble finding a response to that.

"Hey Mizore, would you like be friends?"

She stared at him.

"Do you not want to?"

"Why would you want to be friends with someone like me?" She asked him staring intently.

"Because you seem like a good person, and if you don't have any friends I'd like to be your first." He said with a welcoming smile. "I only have three close friends here and I would be really happy to make another one."

She carefully pondered his words, and slowly nodded her head. "I'd like to be friends with you Tsukune."

"Good," he extended his hand to her. "Then let's become good friends."

Cautiously she reached out and took his hand. "All right," she replied in a hushed voice.

He noted that her hands were cold. He hoped that was proof of a warm heart.


	11. The Day Out

"Well I suppose that will be enough for today," Moka announced.

"Thank goodness," Tsukune muttered as he pulled himself battered and bloody up from the ground.

She waited patiently. "You have learned the basics fairly well in these six weeks. You should be able to protect yourself now."

The fall semester would begin in a couple of days and the campus would suddenly be full of monsters again. Tsukune was both pleased and a little sorry about that. On the one hand Yukari would be back and it would be good to have more people around to talk to and do things with.

On the other hand, despite the pain of training he'd had Moka all to himself this whole time. When she wasn't beating the hell out of him she was actually pleasant to be with. Along with teaching him to fight she'd taken the opportunity to teach him other skills she felt a familiar should have. She taught him proper etiquette while attending a formal dinner party. She taught him how to brew and serve the perfect cup of tea. She taught him sewing and other basics of clothing maintenance. And best of all she had taught him to dance.

In the empty lounge of the girls' dorm they had pushed all the tables and chairs against the wall and he had gotten to dance with her. The waltz, the tango, and other formal dances. He would hold her hand and place his other hand on her hip and together they would move in time to the music. For those times she was his partner and it almost felt as though they were together as equals. They were short and pleasant moments when he was allowed to pretend there was more between him than there was.

He knew better than to ever mention what he was thinking as he knew her response would be swift and violent.

"Does that mean you'll stop training me once the semester starts?" he asked hopefully.

"Of course not," she replied. "While we obviously won't have this sort of time I still intend to give you further training. You know the basics only; there are advanced moves, combinations, different techniques and fighting styles. I still have a great deal to teach you."

"But why bother Moka-sama? I mean if I'm strong enough now to defend myself why keep training me? It's not like I'll ever be as strong as you are in a fight."

"That goes without saying," she answered. "You will never possess more than a fraction of my power."

"Then what's the point of you giving me more training Moka-sama?"

"The point is for you to be as strong as possible," she said firmly. "Just because you will never be able to match me in battle is no reason not to continue to strive to be the best you possibly can. Also the better you are at fighting the better you will do against more powerful enemies. Raw power by itself is meaningless without the skill to use it! That is why I was trained from almost the time I could walk how to fight. In battle it's not strength that counts most but intelligence and the ability to take advantage of an enemy's weakness. Remember, greater skill can always over come greater strength!"

He grinned as he followed her back towards the dorms. "Does that include a vampire's strength?"

She looked back at him and gave a slight nod. "Of course, that is why I work so hard to maintain my skill level. Someone who has both great strength _and_ great skill has very little to fear."

XXXXXXXXXX

The next day was Sunday and the last day before the start of the second semester.

Moka handed him thirty thousand yen. "Go and enjoy yourself," she told him.

XXXXXXXXXX

That morning he went out to the bike racks in front of the girls' dorm.

Mizore was there waiting on him, she had a bike of her own at her side. "Good morning Tsukune," she said shyly with her eyes looking down.

"Good morning Mizore," he said with enthusiasm. "Thanks for doing this with me. Things are always a lot more fun when you can do them with a friend."

"It's no problem," she told him softly. "I'm glad you invited me to come with you. It… it means a lot to me." She looked up at his face and dug her foot into the soft ground.

"Well hopefully it should be fun," he unlocked his bike and got on it. "Have you ever been to Mononoke Arcade?"

"No," she answered quietly.

"Well you should really like it they have everything there. Come on let's go!"

She fell in beside him as they both pedaled away from the dorm and up the road towards the tunnel that could lead anywhere. As soon as they entered Tsukune worked the basic spell Moka had taught him to turn the tunnel into a dimensional bridge connecting to all other tunnels.

After a short while the tow of them exited into Mononoke Arcade.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Look out for that zombie!" Tsukune shouted over the din.

"I see him," Mizore answered calmly and clicked down on her trigger. A couple of the 'shots' hit home and there were spurts of blackish blood and meat before the zombie fell.

There was no chance to relax as more of the undead came forward. Tsukune had a huge grin plastered on his face and his trigger finger was in constant motion as he jerks and twisted with each new enemy. He was obviously enjoying himself.

By contrast Mizore was standing stock still. She took deliberate aim each time before pulling the trigger and destroying another of the endless horde of undead. She glanced over at Tsukune and wondered why he found this so much fun. She had never been in an arcade before and it would never occur to her to spend her time playing, 'Zombie Annihilation!' She really didn't get the appeal, but if Tsukune was enjoying himself she was happy.

XXXXXXXXXX

Following the time in the arcade they hit a bunch of shops. Tsukune bought a few manga, a new pair of sneakers, and a watch. Though he kept asking her if she wanted to get anything Mizore politely assured him she was fine.

Tsukune took her to a pasta place where they sat down to have lunch. "Are you sure you don't want to buy anything Mizore? I mean I thought girls all loved to shop."

"It's fine Tsukune, I'm just glad to be doing something with you." Her alabaster features darkened a little and she stared down at her food. "I… I've never had a boy ask me out before." She said in a barely audible voice.

"What was that?" He hadn't quite heard her.

"Nothing," she said softly.

He shrugged and started attacking his plate some more. The food at school was okay, but it was really nice to have something different. Mizore ate her food slowly and with care. She didn't mind at all that Tsukune was digging in but she didn't want him to see her in any way that wasn't lady like.

"Hey Mizore, after we eat do you want to see a movie?"

"A… movie?"

He nodded. "This place has a movie theater and they're playing a brand new Hollywood release I want to see. You interested?"

"Su… sure Tsukune." The idea of sitting alone with him in a darkened theater made her feel nervous, but also excited. It was just like a real date.

XXXXXXXXXX

There was a large crowd besieging the entrance to the theater and he was worried he and Mizore might be separated. Without thinking about it he grabbed Mizore's hand to keep them from getting split up. Back in his middle school days the idea of grabbing a girl's hand would have panicked him and seemed like a huge deal. After months of seeing a certain girl naked every morning and scrubbing her back just holding someone's hands didn't fill him with terror anymore.

For Mizore the gesture was something completely different. Without asking or explaining himself she had felt him take possessive hold of her. He was guiding her through the crowd and expecting him to follow. For someone as shy and introverted as her it was a very powerful act and one that made her heart race. The feel of his warm hand holding hers was enough to give her a warm secure feeling she'd never felt before.

Inside the theater Tsukune paid for their tickets and got them some popcorn and sodas. The theater was packed and the film wound up being a big budget action flick filled with car chases and gun fights and explosions. She barely noticed.

As soon as they sat down she snuggled up close to him and rested her head on his shoulder. Tsukune was surprised at first, but decided not to say anything if this made her comfortable. For Mizore it was almost perfect.

XXXXXXXXXX

After the movie they decided to call it a day.

"You sure you don't want to do any shopping before we go?"

Mizore shook her head. "No Tsukune, I don't need to buy anything. Just spending this day with you was enough to make it terrific. Could… could we do this again some time?"

He nodded immediately. "Sure, but it may need to wait for awhile since school is starting up."

She nodded. "That's fine; there are lots of things we can do together."

"Yeah, maybe next Sunday you me and Yukari can all do something."

A small frown appeared. "Who is Yukari?"

"Oh she's a witch and another of my close friends. I bet you'd really like her, the more friends you have together the more fun you have. Don't you think?" Tsukune smiled at her.

"Su… sure."

He stopped on the way to their bikes. "Oh give me just a minute I want to get something."

She stopped in the street and watched as he hurried into a flower shop. When he came out again he had a dozen snow white lilies.

"Oh Tsukune they're beautiful!" Mizore gasped. "What a lovely romantic gesture! Are they for me?"

Looking embarrassed he shook his head. "Ah, actually, these are for Moka."

Mizore blinked at him in surprise. "For Moka?"

"Yeah, she loves lilies."

"I see," Mizore answered quietly.

"If you'd like I'll get you some too."

She shook her head. "No, that's all right. I'm more than happy with what you gave me today." She stared at him intently. "I am a good friend to you right?"

"A really good friend!"

"I see," she said quietly.

She didn't say anything more on the way back. But she had thought playing through her head.


	12. The Lonely Girl

As soon as we get back to the academy I chain up my bike and say goodbye. I get away as fast as I can. I _run away _as fast as I can. Tsukune calls after me but I ignore it. I secretly want him to chase after me.

But he doesn't of course.

Instead he goes back to _her_. The one who hurts him and treats him like he's nothing. Why? Why did he buy _her _flowers? My heart is wracked with pain and confusion, I don't understand these feelings. Why must it hurt like this when I was so happy just a little while ago?

Some of the girls have come back already to the dorm. When they see me they step aside and let me run past. I can hear some of them say things like, 'freak' and 'weirdo' as I pass them. I don't care. None of them understand me so what does it matter what any of them think?

I get to my room and slam shut the door. I throw myself on my bed and curl up into a ball.

Why?

Why did he get her flowers? I'd like to think she ordered him to but I can't believe that. It was obvious he _wanted _to get them. I can't get the image out of my head, him standing there with those beautiful lilies. How could he give them to her instead of to me?

Until today we'd never done anything but talk and look out at the sea. I started looking forward to Sundays just because I'd get to spend a little bit of time with him. I know I'm nothing special, so just having him want to spend that much time with me was great. During the rest of the week I decided to watch over him. It's my way of making sure he's all right.

I saw his, 'training' with that cruel woman. He may think she'd trying to help him but all she's really doing is beating on him. She is so cruel, how can he think that her hitting him like that was some sort of _kindness_?

I can understand that way of thinking, I can sympathize. I know what it's like to want someone to like you so badly that you invent excuses for the way they treat you. It's very hard to admit that someone you really like is abusing you. It's the worst sort of betrayal.

I suddenly sit up with a start. Oh! Why didn't I realize that before? It's not Tsukune's fault! He's a very kind sweet boy; it's natural for him to want to be kind to others. He's probably trying to be kind to that evil woman while having his gestures spat back in his face! I bet she doesn't even accept the flowers! She'll probably throw them out in the trash! Really it's her to blame. He doesn't realize yet that she doesn't really care about him, that she's only using him. I was the same way with Kotsubo-sensei.

All at once I feel much, much better. I just need to help him see that I'm the one who really likes him. I'm sure once he finally sees the truth he'll realize it's me who he belongs with.

I get off my bed and go over to my desk. I take out my scrap book and open it up to put in a new entry.

_Had my first date with Tsukune today. It was wonderful; he bought me lunch and took me out to a romantic movie. We also…_

XXXXXXXXXX

I hide in the shadows and wait patiently. I know Tsukune would be happy to know all the effort I put into watching out for him. It's all proof of my honest devotion.

I see the door open and _she _walks out. As always her head held high, her whole body consumed with pride. Tsukune comes out right after and falls into his usual place behind her. She locks the door and barks the word, 'Come!' exactly like she might to her dog. Tsukune falls into step behind her and they leave.

Since there are other students now I have to be more careful. During the summer I knew they would be 'training' for hours and there was no one else around. I'd be able to sneak into his room and curl up on his bed. It made me happy to lie down on the same bed where he slept. It made me feel closer to him.

Today though I'm going into _her _room. There's something I need. I pull out the lock picks I always carry with me and bend over to pick the lock. I've gotten _really _good at this and after just a few seconds I hear the little, 'click' that tells me I'm in. I open the door and slide inside quickly. All I want is to go through her trash and take the flowers that I'm sure are there. I want them.

I'm really surprised when I see them sitting out in a vase in the middle of her room.

I stand there and stare at them.

Then I walk out of her room.

XXXXXXXXXX

I didn't attend much last semester, but I'm going to class today.

On my way I see the three girls from the newspaper club shouting something about their editor saving a human city and rescuing some witch. I don't really pay attention and walk past them without bothering to get a paper.

Near the entrance to the school I stop and duck behind some bushes.

I watch as a little girl in a witch's hat is clinging to Tsukune's leg and raising a fuss.

"Wah! I missed you so much Tsukune! Did you miss me?"

Smiling he pats her on the shoulder. "Sure I did Yukari! I'm really happy to see you again."

The little girl looks delighted. "Let's work really hard again this semester and do even better on the exams!"

He nods and agrees. Moka looks on the scene with mounting impatience.

By the time she drags him away I feel a huge sense of relief. So that's Yukari? A little girl like that is no competition. That's good, the only threat is the vampire and I'm sure I can deal with her.

XXXXXXXXXX

I slouch into homeroom totally unnoticed and glide towards the back of the class. All the seats near Tsukune are full, including the one right behind him where _she _is.

I take the last seat in the row. Like usual no one notices me. I look over the classroom to try and spy out anything useful. I'm really good at that; I have patience and a good eye. I notice things and remember them. I can see things a lot of people miss.

For instance the air head with the huge chest, Kurumu. She is surrounded by her usual harem. She has seven guys fawning over her. She loves playing the queen and smiles and nods to her admirers. But I notice every now and again her eyes drifting over to where Tsukune is. It's very subtle, none of her idiot boyfriends notice it but I do.

_She _notices it too. The vampire turns her head ever so slightly in her direction. I see their gazes cross for just a few seconds. I can read the message the vampire is sending her; _'don't try it.' _Kurumu has a slight smirk as she breaks eye contact to laugh at some joke one of her pets is making.

Tsukune of course is totally oblivious to all of this.

I wonder if I'll have to deal with Kurumu. Probably not, I can leave her to the vampire. The stupid girl is too obvious, and too greedy. Why would Tsukune want to have anything to do with someone who collects boys like trading cards? Obviously he'd want a girl who'd be devoted only to him.

Nekonome-sensei comes in and welcomes everyone back to the second semester. I like sensei; she's a good teacher and really cares… unlike others. After welcoming us back she gets down to business by announcing they will need to elect a class representative to the Student Council. That person will be responsible for readying the class for participation in the upcoming cultural festival.

"So are there any nominations for class representative?"

I am just about to raise my hand to nominate Tsukune when Moka rises smoothly to her feet. "Though it will be a burden I will accept the position," she announces.

All heads look at her in surprise and sensei appears nervous.

Kurumu jumps to her feet to glare openly at the silver haired vampire. "You make it sound like you don't even want it!"

"I do not," she says matter of factly. "However, as the one most obviously fit to lead it seems natural I become the class representative." She glances over the entire class with her confident gaze. "Does anyone think to oppose me?"

"You're damn right someone does!" The big chested girl says. "As your arch rival I won't let you win!"

The vampire grins at her and laughs mockingly. "Rival? You? Not if you lived another thousand years little girl."

Kurumu growls but I can see she's totally outclassed. Even her fan club is looking the other way; no one wants to cross the vampire. It's already clear who is going to be elected.

When homeroom ends everyone hurries out. I'm the last to go. Nekonome comes up to me with a big smile on her face and her tail is twitching back and forth.

"Shirayuki-san! It's so good to see you in class again. Will you be attending from now on?"

I nod. "Yes sensei, I think I will."

XXXXXXXXXX

I watch him from a distance during his lunch. He is sitting with the little witch and the vampire. The little witch monopolizes all his time as she talks to him all through the period. The vampire ignores both of them completely.

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why does he like her? Kotsubo turned out to be cruel, but at least he pretended to care about me for awhile. She doesn't even do that. So why Tsukune? Why do you have to like her?

And her, why did she accept the flowers? Its plain she thinks nothing of him, that she holds him in contempt. So why did she accept the flowers? There's no way she could like him. You don't treat someone you like the way she treats him.

When lunch ends I notice I haven't eaten anything. I end up just throwing it away; I just don't have an appetite today.

XXXXXXXXXX

My last class of the day is gym.

I almost skip it, but I decide to go. If I'm going to save Tsukune from the terrible situation he's in then I need to have courage.

During the class Kotsubo keeps his distance and doesn't pay me any special attention.

Not until the end of class.

"Shirayuki," he calls out. "I need you to stay after class and help me with clean up."

I nod calmly even though inside I am terrified. "Yes, sensei."

XXXXXXXXXX

He waits until we're alone in the gym. That's when the pretense that he is a decent person ends and he looks at me menacingly.

"I thought I told you not to come back to class."

"I had to come back," I tell him quietly. "There's someone very important I need to be with, so I can't drop out."

He has a cruel smile, it's so different from Tsukune's, there's not an ounce of warmth in it. How did I ever think I could have been in _love_ with him? "So you've picked out a new victim? Is it another teacher or are you going after a student this time?"

"Who he is, is none of your business," I tell him. Thinking of Tsukune gives me courage. "Please just leave me alone. I want to forget about what happened before."

He laughs and takes a step towards me. "Oh is that how it is? You think you can just come back here and it's okay? I have a reputation to maintain and I don't need some psycho like you here to put in danger."

"Don't call me that," I say to him. My voice is shaking. "Don't you dare call me that!"

Without realizing it I've transformed and the gym is unexpectedly turned into a vast icebox. Kotsubo has stopped and is shaking from the sudden cold. He looks scared.

"Don't call me a psycho!" I scream at him. "I never would have hurt you if you hadn't tried to… to…"

"To what?" He growls at me. "Give you what you wanted? You said you loved me didn't you? That means you shouldn't have complained no matter what I did."

"That… that didn't give you the right…"

He laughs at me. He laughs at me and I feel rage boiling up inside me. "The strong have the right to do whatever they want to the weak! You're not staying here! I'll get rid of you one way or another so you may as well just leave now."

"No," I say to him. "I can't leave yet. I can't leave until Tsukune loves me."

"Tsukune?" He laughs and bears his fangs at me. "The vampire's familiar? Is that who you're in 'love' with now? What do you think will happen when I tell him about you and me? Do you think he'll want to love a slut like you? Someone who teases people and then attacks them when they try to return the feelings? When he finds out what you are he'll be disgusted with you!"

Something breaks inside me. I imagine Kotsubo telling Tsukune his lies and I know I **can't **let it happen.

No matter what I have to do.

XXXXXXXXXX

The next day I slide into my seat at the very back of the row.

Tsukune doesn't notice me, neither does anyone else.

During homeroom there is a PA announcement that Kotsubo-sensei appears to have gone missing. This causes a big stir. Everyone is used to students going missing, but this is the first time it's happened to a teacher.

I don't pay attention to any of it. I just put my face down on my desk and stare at Tsukune. It really must be love, because for him I can even commit murder without regret.


	13. The Trap

Nekonome-sensei was smiling nervously as he tail twitched back and forth violently. "Well, by a vote of 35 to 5 Akashiya Moka is elected as our class representative. Congratulations Akashiya-san."

She stood up and offered the teacher a slight bow. "Thank you sensei." She turned slightly to face the class. "I thank you for electing me, I give you my word I shall perform the duties of class representative to the best of my abilities." She sat back down.

Kurumu was openly glaring at her and at her, 'boyfriends.' She had seven of them in her homeroom. Including herself she had expected to get at least eight votes, but hadn't even managed that. Her homeroom boyfriends would not be getting any smiles or attention from her for a good while.

She would have been even more incensed to know that one of the five votes against Moka had come from Saizo who was not part of her harem. He had voted against her and for Kurumu for his own reasons.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Congratulations on your election Moka-sama," Tsukune said as they sat down to lunch. As usual he was sitting across from Moka and next to Yukari.

Unnoticed by any of them Mizore was in some nearby bushes happily munching on a sandwich, content just to be close to the boy she loved.

"Thank you Tsukune," she said without any interest.

"Aren't you excited about being class rep, desu?" Yukari questioned.

"No," she said flatly. "For me it will be nothing but a burden. I accepted the position only because it would sting my pride to allow anyone else to have it."

Tsukune looked at her. "So you don't want it, but you don't want anyone else to have it either?"

She nodded. "Exactly."

He chuckled lightly. "Pride really is inconvenient isn't it Moka-sama?"

Without a word the back of her hand smacked into his face knocking him off his chair and onto the grass. Conversation all around them came to a sudden halt as the students all looked her way. It started up again quickly as they deliberately looked the other way and pretended not to notice.

Moka continued to eat her lunch without the slightest interruption.

"What was that for? Desu!" Yukari got up and swiftly helped Tsukune back to his seat.

Mizore stopped eating and stared hatefully at the brutal vampire.

"I did not like his tone," she replied coolly without even bothering to look at either of them. "Whatever my pride may cause me to do it is not his place to comment on it."

"So you hit him for his tone?!" Yukari demanded.

"It's okay Yukari, it's my fault," he nodded to Moka as he sat down. "I'm sorry Moka-sama."

"Don't apologize to her!" Yukari said angrily. "She's got no right to hit you for something like that! Desu!"

"He is my property and I can do as I please with him," she said sounding slightly annoyed.

Yukari opened her mouth to argue but Tsukune place a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay Yukari," he said quietly. "It's fine."

"It's really not you know," the little witch replied sadly but sat back down.

The three of them finished their meal in silence.

XXXXXXXXXX

On a nearby rooftop Saizo, Midou, and a few other rogue ayashi looked on.

"Arrogant bitch," Saizo muttered. "How I would love to break her in even just once!" he looked eagerly to Midou. "So what do you say?"

Midou looked back at him cautiously. "It's risky."

"Everything that's really worth doing has some risk to it!" He said angrily. "Just think what it would do for our reputations if we were to kill the arrogant vampire? I mean she even beats her weakling servant right out in the open because she knows no one is going to say a word."

"But that's not what's driving you crazy about her is it?" Midou said with distaste. "You just can't stop thinking about what's between her thighs."

The other boy actually blushed slightly. "So… so what?" He said defensively. "She's beautiful! What's wrong with wanting piece of something that fine?"

"She's the enemy," Midou said coldly. "She's exactly the type I hate the most. An arrogant elitist pure bred looking down her noses at all of us mixed breeds. You shouldn't want anything to do with her."

"I'm not looking to marry her," he said. "I just want to have her just once and then I'll be happy to snap her worthless neck." He grinned. "Just think of it as the ultimate humiliation for that elitist bitch."

"Fine whatever," he muttered. "If it destroys her pride it's all right."

"Then… then we're really doing this?" Saizo said excitedly.

"Yes we are," Midou said with a determined scowl. "The trap is set and I mean to remove her and let the whole pure bred world know our power. All we need now is to get our bait."

They both turned their eyes down to Tsukune.

XXXXXXXXXX

After class Moka had sent him off to the campus bookstore to get some tomato juice and a few other things. He was on his way back when he saw Saizo and a few other boys standing in his way.

"Hey there buddy," Saizo said. "Think we can have a little of your time?"

"Sorry, but Moka-sama is waiting on me." He walked past them without the least bit of worry. Since Moka had made him her familiar no one on campus had ever once threatened him or laid a finger on him. The only person who he had reason to be wary of was Moka herself.

So when Saizo hit him in the back of his head he wasn't expecting it.

XXXXXXXXXX

Moka was busy studying and had not noticed the time when there was a timid knock on the door. She knew instantly that it was _not _Tsukune. She could sense his presence and knew he was a few miles away to the north. _What is he doing there? _Looking at the clock she realized that she had sent him out almost two hours ago. Not only was he still not back but his current location was in the middle of the woods.

She answered the door to find Yukari standing there. It was time for their usual tutoring session.

"Excuse me Moka-san," Yukari began. "But Tsukune's not answering his door. Is something wrong?"

She looked down at the little girl with a frown. "It seems Tsukune has wandered off for some reason, I'll have to go get him. Go home Yukari, the lessons are cancelled for today."

"But…"

"Go home," she repeated. She did not bother to inform Yukari that she suspected Tsukune might be in some sort of trouble.

Well if he was she would have to bring him back that was all.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Wakey, wakey!" Saizo called out as he threw a bucket of cold water on him.

Tsukune came to with a gasp. He had an ache in the back of his head. Looking around he could see he was on a sofa in some run down warehouse. His hands were bound in heavy chains. He tried but couldn't break them.

"Don't bother wimp, you're not going anywhere," Saizo mocked. "At least not until after your master comes."

Tsukune saw there were about ten boys present. None of them wore school uniforms; all of them had the look of delinquents. Saizo was the only one he recognized.

"What do you think you're doing?" Tsukune asked. "Moka-sama will definitely come here to rescue me."

"Oh we know that," a silver haired boy playing with a pinball machine called out. "That was the whole point of the exercise. You're just bait; the one we want is the vampire."

Saizo stood over him grinning and cracking his knuckles. "Not so tough now are you Tsukune?" he punched him right in the gut.

"Ooooph," he cried out even though Saizo lacked the strength of one of Moka's blows.

"Leave him be Saizo," the boy playing pinball ordered.

Saizo looked outraged. "What are you talking about Midou? This guy is her freaking pet! He's riding her coat tails acting all high and mighty just because he has her to protect him!"

"She didn't seem to be protecting him during lunch today," Midou said calmly. "Tsukune isn't the enemy here. He's just a weaker monster who has to submit to a more powerful one. There's nothing wrong with that, it's how the world works." He looked over at Tsukune. "When this is all over we'll let you go."

"We will?" Saizo growled.

"Yes we will," Midou answered immediately. "Who better to let the school know what happened than the rescued familiar? I'm sure he'll be very grateful to us for freeing him from her."

"No I wouldn't!" Tsukune said angrily. "No matter what she does I care about Moka-sama and want her to be safe!"

Midou, Saizo and the others all looked at him.

"Why?" Midou asked curiously. "We're offering to free you, why would you rather remain a slave?"

"Because he's her personal bitch! That's why." Saizo said.

"I want to hear him answer," Midou stated and focused on Tsukune. "Why do you want to protect her when she only hurts you?"

"She doesn't only hurt me," he replied. "She protects me; she's given me training and tutoring. Thanks to her I've grown and changed and become a better person. Even though she hurts me I just accept that it's her way."

"What kind of cowardly thinking is that?" Saizo demanded. "You let a woman beat on you in public and you think that's okay?"

"Are you going to preach?" Tsukune asked. "I still remember what you tried to do at the start of the semester."

Saizo grinned. "Yeah, and Midou has promised me that he'll let me get what I want from her before we're done. Heh, I'll let you watch if you want."

The thought of Saizo putting his filthy hands on her made him growl. "You really shouldn't have said that just now," Tsukune told him.

"Oh yeah? How come? You going to make me regret it?"

"No, I will." Moka called out in a deadly tone.

They all turned to look at the entrance where Moka was calmly waiting looking them over. Tsukune had of course sensed her approach the entire time he'd been talking to them and knew she had arrived as Saizo spoke.

"At last you've arrived," Midou said happily.

Moka ignored him for the moment, choosing instead to focus on Saizo.

"I spared you once Saizo, despite your disgusting intentions," she told him pronouncing sentence. "I won't spare you a second time."

As they were watching she seemed to vanish.

"What?"

"Where did she?"

"How?"

Startled voices all called.

"Gak!"

All eyes turned back to Saizo. Moka was standing in front of him with a single hand holding tight his throat. "Know your place scum." She gave a sudden jerk and there was an audible 'snap.' Saizo's body twitched as she threw it to the floor.

She then proceeded to tear off Tsukune's chains without giving him or the others present any further attention.

"I thought I'd taught you how to fight," she said in annoyance. "How could such as these have captured you?"

"I'm very sorry Moka-sama, they took me by surprise." He bowed his head to her as he stood up and rubbed his sore wrists.

"That is no excuse Tsukune! Obviously I will have to give you more intensive training!"

Tsukune paled and shivered slightly.

"Excuse me!" A fully transformed Midou called out. "Have you forgotten a little something? You just killed one of my men right in front of me!"

Moka sent him a disinterested look. "So what? He was just a worthless monstrel like the rest of you. If you want to challenge your betters you should expect nothing but death." She deliberately looked at his face and the face of everyone else present. "I'll kill the whole lot of you."

The others felt her killer intent abruptly spike and drew back, all their brave talk and plans forgotten.

Midou alone stood his ground and shook with anger at the sheer arrogance of her words. "Damn elitist vampire, don't underestimate us!" He charged at her, focusing all his strength into his mutated iron hard right arm.

She sent Tsukune a quick glance. "Stay here," she ordered. She then threw herself at her foe. Her speed and agility easily allowed her to avoid his fast but clumsy attack. She delivered a kick that sent him flying into a pile of refuse with a thundering crash. "Know your place!" She shouted.

The other rogue ayashi were stunned.

"No… no way! She took him down with one blow?" One of them said.

"It, it can't be! Midou's unbeatable!"

They all looked at one another. "We'll have to try _that_." A worried voice spoke.

"I'll do it," one of them hurried off.

The rest meanwhile turned to see her walking towards them. "Beg my forgiveness and I may spare you."

Despite the demonstration of her power and ability and the feeling of her murderous intent they all shook their heads. "Screw you vampire," one particularly brave soul said.

"Very well," she said in a disinterested voice. "Your place will be in a grave." With that she attacked them without mercy, snapping their necks and impaling them on convenient pieces of metal.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tsukune stood where he was and watched her massacre them. This was even more brutal than what he'd seen her do to the goblins. This was worse somehow. She _could _have let them go without putting either of them in danger.

She was killing them for the sake of her pride.

XXXXXXXXXX

By the time Midou had pulled himself back to his feet he was watching her finish off the last of his men.

No, one of them was still unaccounted for. Up above he heard a slight rumble as the water pressure was building. He began to approach her.

She was already covered in blood as she turned to face him. "I'll give you the same chance I gave them," she said. "Kneel and beg and you may live through this."

"You think you're so superior don't you vampire," he spat angrily. "Well I know about your kind, I know that along with all your strengths you also have weaknesses. Like this…"

With a gentle clinking sound the fire sprinkler came to life bringing down water.

"Aaargh!" Moka screamed in unexpected pain. Each drop was like a red hot dagger. Energy crackled all about her as her energy was literally being drained from her.

Tsukune looked on in horror. She had told him pure water was dangerous to her but he had never actually seen the effects before. "Moka-sama!" he cried.

"Eat this!" Midou shouted.

He slammed his fist into her. Barely able to stand she was totally defenseless and was sent flying to crash into a steel beam.

She cried out in pain and spat up blood. She could feel a couple ribs snap as she collapsed to the ground.

"Where's your arrogance now, huh?!" Midou demanded as he calmly walked towards her. "I'm going to make you pay for each and every one of my friends!"

Clutching her side she forced herself back to her feet. With the water coming down she knew she was in serious trouble, but there was no thought of running or pleading for mercy. She would rather die than let someone like him reduce her to that.

He was almost to her when a figure stepped between him and Moka.

"Get away from Moka-sama or I'll kill you," Tsukune said in lethal tone.

"Tsukune," Moka muttered. "What… what are you doing?"

He didn't look back at her; he faced Midou with his full attention. "Didn't you tell me that as a familiar I was expected to give my life to protect you?"

"You can't bluff me you fool!" Midou barked. "Your level of power is way less than mine! If you get in my way I'll just kill you too!"

"Power is nothing without the skill to use it," Tsukune said calmly. "Anyway there's no way I'll let you hurt Moka-sama as long as I'm alive."

"Have it your own way then!" Midou screamed and charged at him.

Tsukune ran at him as well hoping his training would make up for the difference in raw strength between them.

Charging Midou aimed a killing blow for Tsukune's head and was about to launch it when he suddenly slipped. Without warning he was thrown totally off balance. Tsukune saw the unexpected opening and took advantage launching a punch with his full might into Midou's unprotected chest.

With a grunt Midou was sent flying backwards into a pile of discarded metal. By pure chance his trajectory took him into a pair of jutting iron pipes. At the speed he was traveling they skewered him, going right through his chest.

He died slow and painfully.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tsukune saw what he'd done. He'd been ready to kill to protect Moka and had no regrets. But he turned away as soon as he could.

As he hurried over to Moka he was very surprised to see a patch of wet ice on the ground.

XXXXXXXXXX

At her feet was the last rogue ayashi. He'd turned on the water and was trying to run away when she took care of him. She didn't want any of his friends coming after Tsukune looking for revenge. As Mizore quietly slipped away she regretted that Moka had survived. It would have been the perfect opportunity to free Tsukune, but she couldn't risk his dying so had interfered. She also didn't want him to hate her so she couldn't deal with the vampire directly.

Hopefully an opportunity would present itself in the future.


	14. The Vampire's Thanks

"There is no need for you to carry me," she said sounding a bit surly. At the moment she was on Tsukune's back and they were tramping through the woods back towards the academy dorms.

"Isn't it better for me to just carry you Moka-sama?" He asked, trying to sound reasonable. "You're wounded and still weak."

That was true. Her ribs hurt like hell and her wet clothes were enough to sap much of her strength. But she still didn't like _needing _anyone's help. The only thing that made her current circumstances bearable was the fact that it was Tsukune who was helping her.

"Are you sure you want me to take you back to your room instead of the infirmary Moka-sama?"

"No," she said firmly. "I do not need any doctors or medicine to heal me. All I require is some sleep to fully recover."

"And you don't want anyone else to see you like this, right Moka-sama?"

It at once pleased and annoyed her that he knew her so well. "Keep your opinions to yourself Tsukune," she said with a slight growl.

He let out a weary sigh. "Yes Moka-sama."

Despite the situation she felt oddly calm. Even through her pain she relaxed and placed her head down on the back of his neck. She breathed in deeply. His scent was… comforting. She shut her eyes feeling completely safe.

XXXXXXXXXX

She never said, 'thank you.'

With everything that just happened that seemed rather trivial. But it was really bothering him. He had _killed _for her. He hadn't meant to do it, despite his words to Midou. He had just meant to protect her.

He didn't regret killing Midou, not really. When she had killed those goblins it had been to protect him. What he had done had been no different. He would do it again if he had to. But somehow he couldn't seem to get rid of the image of Midou hanging in the air skewered by a couple pieces of metal. His body twitching and choking as blood poured from it. He didn't think he'd be able to get that out of his head.

He had killed for her.

And she hadn't even thanked him.

Was killing someone such a small thing in her eyes? Or did she just take it for granted that he would do it for her? Did she see it as just another mundane task like letting her drink his blood or having carry her books? Or maybe it was just her vaunted pride that had stopped her. Familiar or no he was still just a lowly human in the end. He was sure her pride would choke at having to actually thank him.

He trudged on silently. It didn't really matter. He hadn't done it for thanks. He'd done it to protect her.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Put me down," she commanded once they were back in her room. "Get some towels from the bathroom. I want you to help dry me off."

"Do you want to take bath Moka-sama?" He asked as he fetched the towels.

"No," she said wearily. "I just want to dry off and go to sleep."

Without comment or second thought she stripped off her school uniform as he watched. He saw her naked every day so there was no reason to bother with privacy now. She tossed the clothes on the floor without care and took a towel from him. She began to wipe down her front as he wiped down her shoulders and back. Though he was quick he was still gentle.

When her body was dry she waited as she allowed him to dry off her hair.

"Do not tell anyone about this," she instructed him. "Not even Yukari."

"But what if they had friends?" He asked her. "You might still be in danger."

"If they have friends stupid enough to attack me too then I welcome it," she said defiantly. "But I do not want it known by the whole school that a group of weakling minstrels dared to attack me. Even less do I want it known they actually succeeded in harming me."

"Is protecting your reputation really more important than protecting your life Moka-sama?" he asked her quietly as he finished drying her hair.

"Of course," she said. "A vampire's pride is infinitely more important."

He shook his head sadly. "I think your pride is going to get you into serious trouble some day."

She looked at him with her red eyes. "Perhaps," she admitted. "But there is no possibility I would ever give it up."

"Yes Captain Ahab."

"What?"

"Nothing Moka-sama."

She shook her head. She was naked, cold, in pain, and very tired. "I will need to sleep for some time to heal and recover my strength. Likely for two or three days." She looked down feeling embarrassed. "I will need you to stay by my side during that time as I will be helpless."

"Yes Moka-sama, I won't leave you until you wake." He sounded very sincere.

She was glad she wasn't looking at him at that moment as she could feel the slight blush on her face. His words should not have affected her. They were just his acknowledgement of her command after all. Yet whenever he sounded protective of her it always gave her pleasant warmth.

"Do not bother trying to wake me," she told him. "When my body is ready I will wake on my own."

"Yes Moka-sama."

She was about to slip into bed when she hesitated.

"Tsukune."

"Yes?"

She turned to face him. Looking into his eyes she reached up and put her arms around his neck and slowly pressed her naked body up against him. She brought her mouth to his and kissed him. He stiffened at first, then calmly returned her kiss and placed his own hands about her hips. It was a long, slow, sensual kiss as her mouth sucked and played with his. She enjoyed the sweet taste of him.

When she finally drew back he was feeling a bit lightheaded and stunned.

"That is your reward for fighting for me today, you have my thanks." She then slipped into her bed and beneath her blankets. "Good night." She closed her eyes and was soon fast asleep.

He stood there still in mild shock. Moka had her share of faults, but he had to admit she really knew how to say, 'thank you' when she wanted.


	15. The Dream

Hokuto was calmly inspecting the aftermath of Midou's little power play. He glanced at Midou's corpse, still hanging suspended on a couple metal pipes. "I warned you that a vampire would be more than you could handle."

Nearby Kiria chuckled as he read a book. "Why did you give him permission then?"

"I thought it would make a good test of her abilities, maybe even make her a little more wary of the rogue ayashi on campus."

"Well, it may have worked," Kiria noted. "Word is she and her familiar were both out today."

"Well that's interesting," Hokuto stated. "I look forward to meeting her at her first visit to the student council. It should be interesting to see what her attitudes are now."

Kiria just nodded. "What do you want done with the bodies?"

The President shrugged. "Let them rot."

XXXXXXXXXX

_Why does she have to look so angelic when she sleeps? _Tsukune was seated right next to her bed watching her. During the night he had brought in a pillow and blanket from his room and slept on the floor. This morning he'd been worried about making too much noise or turning in the lights in fear he would accidentally wake her.

Before long though he'd realized there was nothing to worry about. Her healing sleep was very deep; there was no chance of waking her even with a siren next to her ear. Or if her were to slide in beside her…

_Gak! Mustn't even think that! It would be wrong and if she found out she would definitely kill me! Bad Tsukune! Bad! _He shook his head and tried to think about the soft supple body that was lying there just beneath the blankets. He got up and stretched for a bit.

Normally when he saw her asleep in bed he didn't have such thoughts. She was easy enough to wake and the idea of slipping in next to her would be nothing but a method of slow death. But the idea of lying in bed beside her was powerfully enticing.

_Why am I thinking this way all of a sudden? _He saw her lovely body every single day! He touched her every single day! Why now was he obsessing with the thought of lying with her? He wouldn't try anything; he just wanted the comfort of being close to her in her warm bed. As he looked at that angelic face he felt the longing get stronger and stronger in him.

When there was a frantic knock on the front door he practically jumped out of his seat. Glancing at the clock he was surprised that so many hours had passed, school would already be over. He'd spent all that time simply looking at her.

"Tsukune! Are you there? Tsukune?" A familiar voice called desperately from the door.

"Yukari?" He called back. "Hold on, I'll be right there." He made sure to close the bedroom door before opening the apartment one. "Hey Yukari why are you… umph!"

As soon as she saw him standing there the little witch tackled him to the ground. "Tsukune! I was so worried about you! There was a rumor flying through school that a whole bunch of students hadn't shown up today! Then you and Moka didn't come to lunch. I was so worried something had happened to you! Wah!"

Seeing she was on the verge of tears he sat up and hugged her. "I'm sorry Yukari," he said comfortingly. "I've been kind of obsessing about Moka and forgot about what you would think if we didn't show up."

Given the number of students who went missing or turned up dead it was only natural that she would assume the worst.

Yukari sniffled a bit and pressed her head against his chest. "Are you really all right? I came by to see you the other day and you were missing. Moka made me go home and I've been worried about you this whole time."

"I'm just fine," he told her reassuring. "I just got a little side tracked is all. Moka is actually feeling a little sick, it looks like a cold, so she decided to stay in bed and I'm taking care of her. She might be sick for another day or two."

Still in his embrace she turned her head up to look at him questioningly. "You don't need to lie to me Tsukune," she told him softly. "Vampires don't get sick like that."

He looked at her nervously. Moka hadn't told him how to explain her absence.

"It's fine, as long as you're all right. I'll tell everyone that Moka just doesn't feel like coming to class, I doubt anyone will have the courage to come and check on her." She was staring up at him with her big eyes. "She got into a fight and got hurt didn't she? That's the real reason she's sleeping now. The other students who didn't come in were mostly delinquents. Did she get into a fight with them?"

"I really can't say," he told her. "Please don't ask me anything more."

She nodded and shut her eyes as she squeezed tighter into his arms. "It's fine Tsukune, as long as you're safe. I brought the homework you and Moka were assigned."

"Thanks Yukari, you're a really special friend to me."

"Is that all?" She whispered into his chest.

"Did you say something?"

"Can you hold me for awhile? I'll help you with the schoolwork you missed, but could we stay like this for just a little while?"

"Sure," and he held her a little tighter. "As long as you want," he promised her.

XXXXXXXXXX

Moka was in a red gown standing in the midst of a vast ballroom. Sweet music filled the air and all around her couples danced.

"May I have the pleasure?" a voice teased in her ear.

She tensed as a pair of strong hands fell on her hips and turned her around.

She was face to face with Tsukune. But this wasn't the Tsukune she knew. This was the Tsukune she dreamed of. His red slitted eyes looked defiantly into her own. His silver hair shined in the candle light that filled the room. His demonic aura was powerful, almost overwhelming.

"I'm not in the mood," she said and tried to stalk off.

His strong hands held her in place though.

"You're much too beautiful not to dance Moka my dear." His tone was unforgivably alluring. He began to lead her in a dance and she found herself falling into step with him.

As they danced the other couples began to fade away until there was only him and the sweet strains of the music. Their motions slowed bit by bit as he pulled her close, their movements becoming less a dance and something more… intimate.

She felt one of his hands slide down her back to caress her.

"No," she said and tried to pull away.

He yanked her back and held her possessively. In his strong arms she felt utterly powerless.

"Who are you trying to fool?" He asked with a knowing smirk. "We both know what you want."

That was when his mouth captured her lips in a passionate kiss.

For just a second she thought about resisting. Then all her will and defiance just melted away. She returned his kiss with all the fervor and desire she felt. She wanted him to feel her wants and desires. She wanted him, wanted him so badly she could think of nothing else. His scent his mouth his body she wanted to be consumed by him.

As he ripped off her dress and pushed her down to the floor she cried out joyously.

XXXXXXXXXX

As she stirred awake and opened her eyes she looked up to see him standing over her smiling down.

"Good morning Moka-sama, how are you feeling?" He sounded relieved. "You've been a sleep for three whole days."

She needed a moment to remember that what she'd just been thinking had been a dream. It had _nothing_ to do with reality. "I am hungry." Starved would have been more accurate.

She grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him down so she could bite deep into his neck. She made a deliberate point of being rough with him. She needed to remind him that he was just a familiar to her and nothing more. He was still just a lowly human. The thought that she could feel… No! Impossible! She could never feel _that _for someone who was so far beneath her.

When she let go of him he staggered back a couple steps and placed a hand on his throat. He looked a bit pale; she had drunk a lot more than usual.

Glancing at the clock she saw it was morning and they had time to get ready for school. "Prepare my bath and be quick about it," she told him sharply.

Surprised by her tone he just nodded and mumbled, "Yes Moka-sama."

As he went to ready her bath she slid out of bed. _I've been letting too much go with him; I need to remind him of his place._ She remembered kissing him in thanks and knew it had been a mistake. A master did not owe her familiar thanks for _anything_. He was her property after all. No doubt he would begin to think there was something more between them than there was.

She would have to make sure he knew his place.


	16. The New Favorite Flowers

Cruel.

Harsh.

Unforgiving.

These were just some of the words that Tsukune thought described Moka and her treatment of him over the past two weeks. Since waking up from her healing sleep she had changed completely. Before that it had really seemed the two of them had been drawing closer together. She'd permitted him to speak his mind and question her (most of the time.) She'd shown him kindness and tried to help him. They had kissed. They had danced. They had started to care about one another.

Or so he had thought.

He'd thought he'd begun to see the, 'real' Moka. A girl who, though remaining proud and strong, had a softer warmer side that he alone was permitted to glimpse. He'd really started to believe she might have genuine feelings for him.

Now he wondered if he'd made the wrong choice in killing Midou.

Since waking Moka had changed completely. It was like the first few days when she had still been training him to be a familiar. Only this was worse, at least originally she had hit him in order to drill home lessons on what she expected. She would tell him the reason she had hit him and he would immediately change his behavior accordingly. Her violent punishments never completely ceased but they grew less and less as his behavior began to match her expectations.

Now… now she hit him if he breathed wrong or smiled when he shouldn't. Any small misstep resulted in a punch or a slap.

"Moka-sama, did I do something to make you angry?" He had finally asked her. He'd just wanted to know if there was some reason for the abrupt change.

Her reply had been to slam her fist into his jaw. "Do you think I need a _reason _to treat you as I do?" She'd demanded. "You are my property and I can do with you whatever I please!" As if to prove her point she'd delivered a vicious kick to his ribs as he'd tried to stand up again. "Know you place!"

After two weeks of this he now understood his place _very _clearly.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was Sunday morning.

She handed him a bundle of money. "Go and enjoy yourself." She ordered the same way she would if she wanted his blood or wanted him to do the laundry.

"Yes Moka-sama," he answered in a polite emotionless voice. He left as quickly as he could, only too happy to get away from her. With her change in attitude he'd expected her to stop allowing him these free days. The fact she continued was only because to her mind it was, 'proper' to do so. He had no illusions that she was being kind.

When he go to where his bike was Mizore was already there waiting for him patiently.

"Sorry I'm running a little late," he said with a relieved smile. "Have you been waiting long?"

She'd barely been able to sleep and had been waiting here since before dawn. "No, not too long," she told him.

"Then let's get out of here," he told her eagerly.

XXXXXXXXXX

During the week he barely got to see Mizore. Along with punishing him Moka had delighted in giving him more and more labors to do to fill up his days. He and Mizore would meet in the halls between classes and he would run into her a surprising number of times while on errands. Whenever she could Mizore would try to spend time with him even if it could only be for a few minutes. She was always there for him as much as she could be; ready to give him her sympathy and support. She and Yukari were the only reasons he hadn't completely given into despair. And while Yukari was dear to him she was still only eleven.

Realizing that Moka despised him his feelings towards Mizore had started to change. She might not be the great beauty Moka was, but there was no denying the girl was incredibly cute. The fact that she was also kind and sweet more than made up for anything she might lack.

Having arrived at Mononoke Arcade and locked up their bikes he'd failed to realize he was staring at her.

Mizore noticed and began to blush and look nervous. "Wha… what?"

"Ah, oh nothing," he replied quickly. Reaching out he took hold of her hand "It's pretty crowded so we need to make sure we don't get separated."

He was relieved that she simply nodded.

XXXXXXXXXX

As they went from shop to shop Tsukune kept a hold of her hand. He kept wondering if she would suddenly ask him to, but she never did. He saw her face looked very flushed, but she did not look sick or unhappy.

Eventually they sat down together to have lunch. The topic was the same one they usually discussed.

"I don't know what happened to make Moka change," he complained as he had some sweet and sour chicken. "It's like she changed after she woke and became a whole different person."

"Tsukune, haven't you considered that the way she'd been acting towards you is _normal_? Maybe the way she treated you before was some sort of act that she got tired of." Mizore told him quietly. "She'd a cruel person. People like her can hide what they are for a time but eventually their true natures will always come out."

"Don't tell me that Mizore-chan," he wailed. "If this is what, 'normal' is going to be then I think I'd rather die."

"Tsukune don't say that!"

"Why not? It's true. It's not like I can ever escape her." He lifted a hand and pointed off to his right. "Even now I can tell exactly in what direction she is from here. I can't run away from her Mizore, she'll always be able to find me. I just can't stand it, knowing I have to live with someone who hates me. Being at her mercy and not being able to do anything about it."

Nervously she reached across the table and placed her hand on his. "Do... don't lose hope Tsukune! I promise I'll help you."

He smiled at her. "Thanks Mizore, but what can you really do though?"

"I'll definitely find a way to save you Tsukune," she promised him. "I won't let you keep suffering like this, I promise. But you need to endure a while longer. Just put up with it until I can save you."

He didn't really believe that anyone could save him, but her genuine concern did lighten his heart. "Okay Mizore, I'll endure it."

XXXXXXXXXX

They had a good day together. After eating they went to the video arcade, took in a movie, and did some more shopping.

Through it all they held hands.

Neither of them commented on it.

Tsukune was not sure what it meant, but was very glad that he could hold her soft hand in his.

Mizore considered just a sign of his strong feelings for her. As they were leaving she was very happy.

"Hey Mizore, what sort of flowers do you like?"

She almost tripped over her own feet. "Wh… what?"

"What sort of flowers do you like?" He asked again.

She looked at him nervously and spoke in a low quivering voice. "Snow Whites, they're called Shirayuki like me, but you won't find them here."

"Well, what sort of flowers would you like me to get that you think are here?"

"You don't need to get me anything Tsukune," she told him.

He smiled at her and headed for the flower shop. "It's okay, I really want to!"

XXXXXXXXXX

Tsukune returned to his room and quietly got to bed. He knew tomorrow would be another horrible day of pointless beatings and abuse at the Moka's hands. Only his time with Yukari and Mizore made life bearable. He turned off the lights in his room and went to sleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

With her ability to sense his location Moka had known the instant he had returned. Just as she was sure he'd spent the day at Mononoke Arcade. She noticed the light coming from beneath the door connecting her room to his go out. He had gone to bed. If he'd brought something for her he would have given it to her before doing that.

_He didn't bring me flowers._

The thought had come on its own, along with a deep sadness that took her by surprise. She closed her eyes and shifted about in her own bed. _Good, it would have been presumptuous for him to give me something like that. It's good that he isn't overstepping his bounds._

She tried very hard to convince herself of that, but somehow the sadness just wouldn't fade.

XXXXXXXXXX

Mizore was scribbling furiously in her scrapbook about the amazing day she'd had. On a table in front of her were a dozen violets. Looking at them in awe she thought she might have a new favorite flower.

Along with her happiness at receiving flowers from him she was also excited about the fact he was finally seeing Moka for the evil creature she was. He was ready to escape her. Mizore began writing about her plans to save him.

No matter what it took she would rescue him from Moka.

Even if the vampire had to die.


	17. The Line that was Crossed

The movie they were watching came to an end. As the screen darkened end the credits began to roll Shinobu hit the stop button on her remote.

"So what did you think?" She asked.

Moka was looking back at her suspiciously. "Who was it that chose this movie?"

Shinobu smiled easily. Though she had once been intimidated by the vampire sitting across from her she'd grown used to her company. Also, as a third year sempai and as president of their club she was treated with greater respect and courtesy than Moka granted most other students.

"I chose all the movies we see, it's one of the privilege of being club president."

"And why did you pick _this_ particular movie?" Moka asked with a slight annoyance.

"Moby Dick, especially this version with Gregory Peck, is considered a classic and seemed fitting. Next week we'll be watching, 'Gone with the Wind' another classic movie with strong themes." She glanced over at the other member of their club. "What did you think Tsukune?"

Tsukune relaxed slightly. Club was about the only time he was still permitted to speak his mind in front of Moka. Shinobu had made it clear that during their time here all club members were equals, Moka honored that. So here alone he could still say things without fear of retribution.

"I thought it was a powerful example of how destructive obsession can be," he said. He was very careful to address Shinobu without glancing at Moka. "Ahab was a ship's captain and his duty was to make money for his investors and take care of his crew. He ignored both responsibilities for the sake of his own personal need for revenge. I think any sort of obsession that overwhelms common sense ends up being destructive."

He pretended not to notice the way Moka's eyes narrowed.

"I whole heartedly agree with you," Shinobu said with a nod. "He sacrifices everything for his vengeance, even when he _knows _its self destructive." She glanced at Moka. "What do you think?"

Moka looked back at her steadily. "I suppose I can understand Ahab, sometimes we do unpleasant things because we must."

"Doing what you have to even when you don't like it is part of being an adult," Shinobu agreed. "Like taking bad tasting medicine or doing a job you hate because you need a pay check. **But **he point is that Ahab doesn't _have _to pursue the White Whale. He _chooses _to make his revenge the priority over the things that would have better helped him and his crew. '_Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee.' _Does that sound like a rational mind to you? In the end his vengeance mattered more to him than his life or the lives of his whole crew."

"Some things are more important than life," she answered stiffly.

"Captain Ahab would agree with you," Shinobu replied. "For instance, _some_ people might think pride more important than their lives or the lives of others."

Moka stared back at her sempai coldly. "Yes, some might."

XXXXXXXXXX

The debate was not as lively as it should have been and wound down before long. Moka and Tsukune departed leaving Shinobu alone in the room. She wondered if seeing the movie would do any good at all, she tended to doubt it. Moka was intelligent enough to understand the point, but she didn't think there was any way she would change her behavior or even admit that it needed to change. Tsukune had asked her to show this though and she had obliged, she just hoped he didn't end up suffering for it later.

XXXXXXXXXX

Walking back to the dorm she glanced over her shoulder at him. He was walking two steps behind her with a placid empty expression on his face. That was perfectly proper in a familiar. Yet… and yet she felt this overwhelming urge to _talk _to him. That was foolish; he would start to forget his place again if she started to treat him as something other than a slave. Yet the desire to do so was there.

"Can I help you Moka-sama?" He asked in his expressionless voice.

_Do I really remind you of Captain Ahab? _That was what she wanted to ask him, she wanted to ask him and have him answer her honestly. "No," she said and turned her head back to the front.

They returned home and each went to bed without saying anything more.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kurumu arrived to her homeroom surrounded by seven adoring fan boys. Was usual they were fawning over her and telling her how absolutely amazing and beautiful she was. She had a total of thirty boyfriends. When she had first come to school she had been planning to get every last male to worship her. Before too long though she'd come to realize just how much _work _that would be, to say nothing of the drain on her time having to give all of them at least a little bit of attention. She did want to have a little bit of time to herself after all.

As the boys chattered on about how beautiful she was and about how much they worshipped her she smiled at them making them think they had her undivided attention. It was a necessary skill she had been forced to develop. In point of fact she was tuning them out. Every day it was the same thing, all of them in a pointless competition to tell her how much they all loved her. At first she'd absolutely loved the attention; she craved male attention almost as much as she craved sweets. But just as you could eventually get your fill of cookies you could also get your fill of meaningless compliments.

The boys who surrounded her all day every day were all just so weak! Not one of them had any sort of spine at all! She hadn't even needed to bother using her charm ability on most of them. A few smiles, a few teasing words, maybe a couple of hugs with her secret weapons and they melted like butter on a hot stove. They all said they loved her, but what was their 'love' really? Didn't they all just want to sleep with her? Wasn't that really all that drew them and held them?

Well it wasn't like she really felt anything for them either. All she really wanted was to use them to make her own life easier. That seemed fine… to a point. But where was her destined one? Her mother had told her what it had been like when she'd met her father, how her heart had raced when he'd looked at her. How she'd been happy just to be close to him. How she had fallen in love with him. Her mom had told her that she would find her destined one eventually; the mate she would spend the rest of her life with.

She'd been so sure she would find him here. After all it was an entire school filled with virile young male monsters. Surely at least one of them would make her heart race! One of them just had to be the one she was supposed to fall in love with. She'd been looking, trying to find the one boy who would stand out from the rest. But so far she hadn't met him.

She felt a powerful aura approach the room and the volume of talk in the class dropped noticeably. In strode that arrogant Moka, her head held high and her cool glance proclaiming her natural superiority.

Two steps behind her came Tsukune. His face was a mask. She couldn't even guess what he was thinking. Seeing that made Kurumu feel just a tiny bit sad. He'd been one of the very few challenges she'd found here. He was actually interesting and held her attention.

Or at least he'd used to before Moka had beaten the spirit out of him. Now he was a drone, following his master about and never saying anything other than, 'yes Moka-sama' or 'no Moka-sama.' He had become as boring in his own way as the boys who surrounded her. _Ah well, _she thought. _It was bound to happen being a vampire's familiar. _

Moka sat down in her usual seat and Tsukune went to sit in his. Just as he was about to the weird purple haired girl got up to presumably use the bathroom before the bell sounded. As she walked past her right hand brushed against his, the contact being so casual and quick no one would notice it. At the slight touch though Tsukune's perpetual frown lightened for just an instant while the weird girl's cheeks momentarily blushed.

_Oh ho! What have we here?! _Kurumu thought suddenly interested. Moka had missed the little interaction completely. Might her little Tsukune be having a secret love affair? "Yahoo," she said mostly to herself. Tsukune had just become a very intriguing figure again.

XXXXXXXXXX

"I hope that together we can change this school forever and bring about a real peace," the School Committee President announced, wrapping up his speech.

Most of the class representatives who'd heard it stood up and applauded loudly. Moka remained in her seat, looking terribly unimpressed. As usual Tsukune was standing silently behind her. Whenever she attended these school committee meetings he was obliged to as well. He actually thought rather highly of the student president and the ideas and passions he held. He would have liked to have tried to help him.

But then it wasn't his choice.

As the meeting broke up Moka got to her feet and about to leave when the president wandered up to her with his courteous and open smile.

"Are you leaving already Moka-san?" Hokuto asked politely. "I was hoping you could stay and we could talk a bit."

"What is there to talk about?" She asked pointedly. "The plans for the cultural festival seem well ahead of schedule. The part my particular class will play is already determined."

"I was hoping to talk to you about my plans for trying to change this school and bring the wild elements like the rogue ayashi under control."

"That is not my concern," she said dismissively. "That is what the Police Committee is for, let them deal with it."

"Some think Kuyou and his bunch are almost as bad as the rogue ayashi," Hokuto noted. "With your power you could play an important role in changing this school for the better. Don't you want to help your fellow students?"

"Not especially," she answered. "Now if you will excuse me." She walked past him, clearly not interested in anything he had to say.

"What do you think Tsukune-san?" Hokuto asked.

Tsukune knew better than to give an honest answer to that. "I am sorry Hokuto-san, but I have no opinion."

"Are you sure?" Hokuto asked with an encouraging look. "You've attended all the meetings Moka-san has. Surely you have some opinion."

"Why are you speaking to my familiar?" Moka said harshly.

Hokuto looked at her still unconcerned; others in the room though noticed the confrontation. Discussions abruptly halted as all eyes turned their way.

"I am not speaking to your familiar Moka-san; I am speaking to my fellow student. It's mainly for students like Tsukune that I am trying to change things."

"You do not need to concern yourself with my familiar's well being," she told him. "He belongs to me, I will protect him."

Hokuto spoke softly but clearly. "And who protects him from you?"

Moka's eyes widened and a growl escaped her lips. "What was that?" She asked menacingly.

"It is no secret you abuse him at will," Hokuto replied in that same voice. "Your cruelty towards him is no secret since you often hit him right in public. Protecting the weak from the strong is what I believe in."

"What I do with my familiar is none of your business president," she warned him. "If you do anything to interfere you will regret it."

Tsukune could hear the other representatives muttering at her open threat to their beloved leader. Moka and Hokuto, if they heard gave no notice.

"That sort of arrogance is the reason your kind is hated." Hokuto stated.

What happened next was inevitable the instant she heard those words. Her pride would not let her ignore them.

"How dare you! Know your place!" Before the entire School Committee she slammed her fist into Hokuto's face, sending him flying.

Horrified shouts from the committee members filled the hall. Several of them ran to try and help their president. The rest stood there openly staring at her, none of them dared approach her or even say anything to rebuke her.

She looked them down, openly contemptuous, then turned to leave. "Come Tsukune!"

"Yes Moka-sama!" He quickly fell into step behind her.

XXXXXXXXXX

Even in a place like Youkai, where violence was taken for granted much of the time; there were lines that could not be crossed.

Shortly after returning to her dorm there was a knock. Opening the door she was not surprised to find the Chairman standing there. "Come with me." He said to her.

It was not a request.

Nodding her head she obeyed.


	18. The Person You Really Love

That morning Moka wasn't in her room.

Tsukune didn't need to check. As soon as he woke he knew she was a couple miles away.

XXXXXXXXXX

When he came to class everyone noted that Moka wasn't with him. The rumors were already flying but when he arrived alone that sent them into overdrive.

"Where's the vampire?" Kurumu asked as soon as he sat down. "Has she already been expelled?"

"No," he said with complete certainty. "She'd still on campus." If he'd wanted he could have pointed in the direction she was in.

"Did she really hit the class president?" Kurumu asked.

"Yeah, she really did that."

"Then she'll be expelled for sure," Kurumu predicted. "There's no way they'll let her do that, even if she is a vampire."

Tsukune looked at her curiously. "Do you really think so? In a human school they might do something like that. Here though… so much is allowed."

"Well that's true," Kurumu admitted. "But there are still certain things that are not permitted. Like striking a member of the faculty or a member of the student government. Doing that _will _get you expelled."

_What do I do if that really happens? _He'd been wanting to get away from her, but the reality of his situation was anything but simple. He was still her familiar. She considered him nothing more or less than a piece of property. If she wound up leaving the academy would she just expect him to come with her? Where would they go and what would life be like then? So long as he remained her familiar there was literally nowhere in the world he could go and not have her track him down.

What if she just left him behind? That would seem the best case scenario. With her gone he could just hand in a withdrawal notice and finally leave this place.

Or could he?

Looking back he glanced at Mizore. She met his eyes and quickly looked away even as she blushed. He turned back to the front. What would happen to Mizore and Yukari if he just left? Would they really be all right without him? If he stayed would he be able to survive without Moka to protect him?

_Nothing _about this was clear cut.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Yay! I'm so happy!" Yukari cried out. "Now Tsukune won't have to be beaten up any more!"

He smiled at Yukari. Having lunch with her was the highlight of most of his days, that and the few moments he got to steal with Mizore. "That might be so, but that doesn't guarantee she won't try to make me leave with her." Looking around carefully he lowered his voice. "It also doesn't guarantee I'll be safe. No one would mess with me before because I was under Moka's protection, so were you. That's not so anymore, both of us may start to suffer."

"I don't care!" Yukari said defiantly. "We'll take care of ourselves and we'll take care of each other! I'd rather do that than have to see Moka hitting you all the time."

"Thanks Yukari," he said. The little witch was in high spirits. He knew that was because she at least had one person she could count on. In the time they had known each other she had not made any other friends. How could he leave her?

And what about Mizore?

He planted a false smile on his face as Yukari told him about class and about a new spell she was researching. He hadn't mentioned the possibility of leaving on his own.

XXXXXXXXXX

In the classes he hadn't shared with Moka he'd made a number of casual friends. He found himself answering the same questions over and over again.

Yes, she really had hit the class president.

No, he didn't know if she was going to be expelled.

No, he didn't know here she was tight now.

No, he didn't know what was going to happen to her.

By the end of the day he was very eager to get home. He knew that she was still in the exact same spot she'd been in at the start of the day. So far as he could tell she hadn't moved at all. As he began to leave the academy he thought about going in that direction to see her. He was thinking of that as five boys slowly circled around him.

"Well look who it is," one of them said with an angry sneer. "The vampire's pet."

"Awww, what's the matter?" Another called out. "You lonely without master to hold your leash?"

The other students saw what was about to happen and began to gather around them. None of them would help him or even try and call for help. At Youkai fights were entertainment, even when (especially when) they became bloody. Tsukune spotted a few of his casual friends in the growing crowd but knew better than to bother calling on them for help. The only ones who might help him were Yukari and Mizore and neither was here at the moment.

Tsukune calmly loosened his tie and opened his stance. Having had to deal with Moka he wasn't afraid of five common students. "I recognize you," he told them. "You were the ones who were bothering Yukari that time."

Their leader hissed at him. "That's right! We ended up beaten and in the hospital because of you and that damn vampire!"

"The vampire would never have gotten involved over a damn half breed if you hadn't stuck your own nose in!" One of the others said.

"I'm glad I got involved." Tsukune told them. "I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I had just ignored a little girl being tormented by all of you. All of you against one eleven year old girl, you're really brave huh?"

With a cry all five of them attacked him at once.

He was surprised at how slow they were moving. Having trained with Moka for so long he'd gotten used to her speed. He ran forward to keep from being surrounded. Moka had taught him that when fighting a group it was always best to deal with the leader first if at all possible. That was what he did, as the man was still lunging he ducked easily below his arms and drove a single compact bone shattering punch into his jaw. There was a loud clear, 'snap' as he went down with teeth and blood spilling out of his mouth.

The crowd gasped and the other boys were momentarily stunned to see their leader down and gagging blood. Tsukune didn't hesitate or wait for them to come back to their senses. There were no time outs in fights, that was another lesson Moka had taught him. If your enemy was distracted take advantage. He delivered a swinging kick at the side of a knee. The boy cried out and dropped to the ground clutching his leg. He did the exact same to a second boy who was still too stunned to act. With three moves he had disabled three opponents.

The last two stared at him wide eyed not believing what he'd just done. They then turned away and ran as fast as they could. Moka would not have let them escape. Tsukune did though, he didn't have the same sort of killer instinct Moka had in a fight. If the other guy was quitting that was enough for him.

The people in the crowd cheered, just as though he were their hero. If he'd gotten beaten to a bloody pulp he was sure they would have cheered just as loudly.

XXXXXXXXXX

She was still there.

Still in the exact same place she had been all day.

Why? What was happening to her?

Yukari had come over to study with him just like always. She hadn't heard about the fight yet. The way rumors spread at Youkai he was sure she would by tomorrow. He decided not to say anything; he would deal with all that tomorrow.

Not long after Yukari left there was a soft knock on his door. He thought Yukari might have forgotten something.

But it wasn't Yukari.

"Can I come in?" Mizore asked shyly. In her hands was a large paper bag. "I made you dinner."

XXXXXXXXXX

Dinner turned out to just be some steamed rice and sandwiches. Mizore apologized for not being a better cook. Tsukune told her that he appreciated her making it for him and that it was good. They'd eaten while sitting on the floor, a very relaxed and informal meal.

"Thanks for the meal Mizore-chan," he said. "It's getting kind of late though; I guess you want to go home."

"Oh," she said in a disappointed tone. "I guess you want me to leave."

"What? No, not at all, it's just that it's late and we have class tomorrow. I mean did you want to stay the night?" he flashed her a quick smile to show her that was a joke.

"Yes," she said, sounding utterly serious. "Can I?"

"Huh? Ah, well, sure I guess." When Moka had been in her healing sleep he'd stayed with her the entire time, sleeping on the floor beside her bed. The idea of Mizore staying all night in his room though was making him nervous. "You can sleep on my bed and I'll sleep on the floor."

"No," she shook her head. "That's not what I want." Sitting next to one another she leaned over and carefully placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Mizore what…"

She pulled her lollipop out of her mouth just as she kissed him.

He froze. This was his first kiss with any girl but Moka. His very first instinct was to push her away. He was thinking about what Moka would do if she caught him with another girl.

_Wait a minute! Moka's not my girlfriend! And she's not here!_

The panic passed and he began kissing her back. Her lips and tongue were a little cold but they warmed right up. Her mouth tasted sweet, just like cherry flavored candy. As they kept on kissing he slowly leaned back and the two of them were lying on the floor together. One of her legs slid between his and began to slowly press against him, causing friction.

Getting excited he began pushing his tongue against hers a little more roughly. She responded with her own and kept kissing him.

His right hands stroked one of the mounds hidden beneath her shirt. Through the fabric he could tell immediately that she did not have a bra on. With his fingers he gently squeezed her through her shirt; with his thumb he made little circles around her nipple.

"Ahhhhh," she gasped, breaking their kiss.

"Am I hurting you?" he asked gently. "Should I stop?"

"No, no, don't stop, it feels wonderful," reaching down she pulled off her long sleeve shirt and quickly tossed it aside. Her skin was pale and soft. Her breasts looked like two perfect cherries. He reached down with both hands and touched them, squeezing slowly and delighting in the softness. As he touched her she shut her eyes and gasped again, her whole body was shaking. An amazing feeling was flowing through her. "Tsukune," she panted.

"Is… is this all right?" he asked her. He started to let go but her hands pressed his back down.

She couldn't believe how different this was from when Kotsubo had tried to touch her. Then it had felt wrong, dirty. This… she had never imagined she could feel so good. _It's because I love him, _she realized. _This is what it's like when the person you really love touches you._

"Touch me more," she breathed. "Touch me as much as you want. I'll do anything as long as it's you Tsukune."

He felt himself harden, felt his desire filling him. "Can we… can we go over to the bed?"

"Yes, that's what I want," she told him panting. "I want to share your bed. I want us to be lovers."

"Lovers?" He asked weakly.

Nodding eagerly she was unbuttoning his shirt. "Yes, lovers."

Picking her up off the floor he carried her over to the bed.


	19. The Other Moka

He was wide awake lying in his bed. Snuggled up next to him, sleeping peacefully was Mizore.

His lover.

When he had first kissed her, when he had first touched her, her skin had felt a bit cold. But she had warmed up quickly. At the moment she felt very warm indeed.

Looking at her sleeping face he thought she was amazingly cute. She didn't have Moka's angelic perfection or body, but what she did have plenty to interest him. He had touched every inch of her soft luscious body. He had kissed her, stroked her, licked her, tasted her, and entered her. It had been the first time for both of them. Now she was sleeping beside him in his bed and they were lovers.

Lovers.

The word played in his head over and over again. He had really started to like Mizore as something more than a friend. He hadn't been at all sure about her feelings. He **definitely **had not expected things between them to come this far this fast. Not that he was complaining! When a girl like Mizore came to your room and told you she wanted you complaining or saying no was the last thing on your mind. He didn't regret what had happened between them. But now he had to think about the future.

Unfortunately that meant thinking about Moka.

Her presence was still there. And he could tell she still had not moved from that same spot. Whatever was going on he would have to go and talk to her. For his own sake he needed to know what was going on with her. As long as they shared this special connection whatever affected her would also affect him. He needed to know whether or not she was expelled and whether or not she was going to take him with her.

Whether he wanted to or not he was going to have to go see her.

XXXXXXXXXX

"I'm going to be late for class today Mizore-chan."

"Why?" She looked at him nervously. She was dressed and was going to go back to her room to get ready for class. "It's not… it's not because of last night is it?"

"No!" He answered immediately. "Last night was amazing. But I need to go and see Moka and find out what is going on."

Unhappiness clouded Mizore's face. "Why? Why can't you just leave her alone? She'll probably be expelled and you'll never have to see her again."

"If that happens she'll probably force me to go with her," he said with resignation. "I'm her familiar after all; to her I'm just a piece of property."

"If she tries to take you from me I'll kill her."

Tsukune gave her a startled look. _Where the hell did that come from? _He had never heard a single violent or angry word from her. What she'd just said had been even more shocking because she _hadn't _sounded angry just now. She'd sounded like she was asking to see his notes or if he wanted something to eat.

"Let me talk to her first and see where things stand."

Mizore nodded, calmly agreeing with him. "All right Tsukune."

His smile was just the tiniest bit uncomfortable. "I… I guess I'll see you later."

"All right," she murmured. Taking the lollipop from her mouth she got up on her toes to give him a quick kiss. "Bye for now Tsukune, I love you."

The last three words surprised him, though they probably shouldn't. He wasn't sure how to answer. Luckily she left without making any big deal of it.

XXXXXXXXXX

Heading back to her room Mizore felt like she was walking on clouds. She was his now and he was hers. Their love had been consummated. Next year she would turn seventeen and have to marry. Sometime between now and then she would bring Tsukune home with her and they would begin their happy life together as husband and wife. Until then she would watch over her darling and keep him safe and happy. Everything was so perfect! Even the way he hadn't been able to tell her how much he loved her had been too cute! She was sure he would get over that before long and confess his feelings to her.

XXXXXXXXXX

He was on the road early, before any of the other students. He wanted to talk to her as soon as possible and settle things. He wanted to know just what was going to happen to him, not only for his own sake but for Mizore's and Yukari's too.

He followed the road about half way from the dorms to the academy building. Then he veered off into the spooky woods that surrounded them. There was no path here, not even a trail, but he knew this was the direction she was at.

He walked through the hushed landscape with hardly a sound. It was early morning so the shadows were long and there was hardly even a breath of wind. It would be another typically warm day.

On he went through the empty woods. Walking through the dying grass while keeping an eye out for tree limbs and rocks. Once in a while he would glance to the left or right when he thought he saw movement from the corner of his eye. But there was never anything there.

Every step brought him closer to her. He could sense her. He knew she could sense him coming as well but she made no effort to meet him. Not for the first time he wondered what sort of situation she was in.

His arrival brought him to a tiny wooden tool shed out in the middle of the wood. He looked around but there was nothing else that he could see. The shed had obviously seen better days, its wood was graying and there were gaps where boards had fallen out. The door stood halfway open.

He approached it slowly and carefully. "Moka-sama? Are you all right?" There was no answer but she was here, he _knew _she was here.

"Moka-sama?" He called out as he took another hesitant step forward.

From inside he heard a whimper. "Go away," a girl's voice cried.

That sounded like Moka-sama… and it didn't too. The voice was similar but lacked the deep commanding tone she always had. He could hear sorrow, a deep deep sorrow, that could not possibly be Moka's.

He took another step. With his foot he swung open the door and peered inside.

There curled up in the corner like some beaten animal was a girl wearing the school uniform. She had long pink hair and green eyes that looked puffy and swollen from crying. There was a black leather collar around her neck. From it dangled a silver cross with a red stone at its center. Most surprising of all though this girl had **no **demonic aura surrounding her, she completely lacked that brooding power. He didn't understand what had happened but through his own unique sense he knew that _this _was Moka.

"Moka-sama?"

She looked at him and he could see misery in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said. Then shutting her eyes she pulled her knees to her chest and began to slowly rock back and forth as she repeated it over and over again. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry…"

He stood there watching it not knowing how he should react. He gathered himself and tried to act the way she would have wanted him. "For what are you sorry Moka-sama?" He said in an unfeeling voice.

"Please don't talk like that!" She opened her eyes and pleaded. "Please don't!"

He blinked at her. "That is how you wanted me to talk Moka-sama," he said in a confused voice. "Isn't that how a proper servant is supposed to speak?"

The pink haired girl shook her head making her hair fly about. "I don't want you to talk to me like a servant! And _please _don't call me Moka-sama, please just call me Moka."

He stared at her, really confused now. "Is this some sort of test Moka-sama? If I call you that will you suddenly get angry and use it was an excuse to punish me?"

"That would be normal wouldn't it?" She said looking miserable. "Oh Tsukune I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry for the horrible way I've treated you! You must hate me! You do don't you?"

"If I answer that honestly will you hit me?"

She shook her head again. "I'm never going to hit you again Tsukune, or at least this me won't. From now on please just talk to me like… like a fr… friend not like a master."

"All right… Moka," he spoke slowly, carefully, watching her responses. "If you really want the truth, then yes, I do hate you."

"You should," he muttered mainly to herself. "I'm horrible, I'm a horrible, horrible person and everyone hates me, I know it." She shut her eyes and lowered her head. "All I wanted was to make just one friend! And now I've ruined everything!"

"Didn't you say that vampires don't need friends? At least among us 'lower beings.'"

"I did say that," the girl answered. "I said a lot of terrible things that I didn't really mean." Looking up again she faced him. "Do I remind you of Captain Ahab?"

"Am I allowed to answer truthfully?"

The girl nodded. "Always."

"Then yes, you do, or maybe I should say you did. What has happened?"

"The Chairman gave me a choice," she said, her voice hollow and defeated. "I could be expelled and sent back to my father in disgrace or I could remain a student if I sealed my powers." She touched the silver cross that was resting against her chest. "This is the same rosario I used in middle school when I was attending class in the human world. _Anything _would be better than facing my father as a failure, so I agreed to wear the seal again. I… I have been just sitting here alone crying all this time because I couldn't bear to face you after everything I've done to you."

"Why?" He asked, genuinely puzzled. "You never cared before."

She flinched just as if he had struck her. "I'm not the same person I was before; the seal has a side effect where it splits up my personality. This me, this Moka, is not the same person you know. I am truly sorry for all the things I've done to hurt you." She looked at him longingly. "Can you forgive me?"

"Can I still answer honestly?"

She nodded.

"No, I can't forgive you," he told her.

She looked heartbroken, but not really surprised. "I… I understand, that's fair I guess. It's what I deserve."

"I can't forgive you because _if_ you really are a different Moka then you're not the same person who did all that to me. The other Moka would have to ask that if she wanted forgiveness. _If _you really are different I'll try not to hold what happened before against you."

"Really?" She asked hopefully.

He slowly nodded himself. "You seem totally different on the outside, so maybe it's possible you're different on the inside too. If you really will stop hitting me and start treating me decently then I'll try and change as well." He held out a hand to her. "That's _if _you really are different."

He wondered if she would accept his hand. The Moka he knew would just slap it away and tell him she did not need his help. But then the Moka he knew would rather die than cry and admit she'd been wrong.

"Thank you Tsukune," she said softly and took his hand and allowed his to help her up to her feet.

He was not sure what to make of this crying, weaker Moka. But he thought that maybe, just maybe, he might grow to like her.

"Shall we go back Moka-sa… Moka?"

She nodded.

They both stood there waiting.

"Ah, aren't you going to lead the way?" He finally asked her.

"No," she told him. "No more walking behind me Tsukune, from now on please walk at my side, not like a servant but like a friend."

"Ah, okay."

They walked back towards the academy walking side by side.


	20. The Effects of the Rosario

Standing beside her bed Tsukune thought the pink haired Moka every bit as beautiful and angelic in her sleep as the other had been.

He still didn't know what to make of her. Was she _really_ different from the person she had been? He had no idea how seals worked, maybe he could ask Yukari about it. He did know that she had cried, that she had apologized and asked forgiveness, and asked him to treat her as he would a friend. All of that was completely out of character. If it was all real and not an act he thought he might come to really like this other Moka.

He switched on the light. "Good morning Moka-sa… Moka, please wake up now and I will prepare your bath."

He saw her eyes slowly open. She was lying in her bed in a frilly pink nightgown that revealed much of her shoulder and chest. As soon as her eyes focused and she really saw him she ducked beneath the covers. "Eek! Tsukune! What are you doing in my bedroom?"

"What do you mean? Waking you and preparing your bath is what I do every morning."

She peeked out from beneath the blanket. "Oh… yes, that's right." He could see her cheeks turning a deep red. "So you've… seen me naked."

"Of course," he answered simply. "Not only do I see you naked every morning but I scrub your back too."

"Eek!" She ducked back beneath the blanket.

"Is something wrong?" He didn't understand why she was acting so strangely. "We do this every morning."

"I… I know," she told him. She popped just her head out again. "I know everything my other self did, but… but it's still kind of embarrassing." She spoke nervously. "If… if you don't mind I'll wake myself up and bathe on my own from now on."

"Sure Moka, what about the other thing we do in the morning?"

"Other thing?" She asked hesitantly.

"Your morning meal?" He stretched out his neck for her.

"Oh, that!" Her stomach rumbled, she hadn't eaten in more than a day. "That I still want to do!" Forgetting her shyness she jumped out of bed and planted her fangs into his neck.

_Ouch! Well this hasn't changed at least._

XXXXXXXXXX

"Everyone is staring at me," Moka said nervously. She and Tsukune were walking side by side. People were keeping a healthy distance but they were all eying Moka. Their expressions ran from confusion to skepticism to hostility to hopefulness.

"It's not surprising is it?" He asked. "They recognize you as 'Moka' even though you do look a little different, especially since I'm walking with you. But even though they all know you're a vampire they can't sense your demonic aura anymore. It's no wonder they're confused."

"Do you… do you think they hate me?" She asked in a small voice.

He could see she was really worried. _How honest should I be? _He decided it would be best to just give her the truth as he saw it. Youkai Academy was a rough place, trying to pretend it wasn't was pointless. "A lot of them probably do hate you, you weren't exactly, well… liked before. I mean it's not as though you tried to get people to like you."

She hung her head. "I know, after what happened to me in middle school I decided it was stupid to try and make friends with the lower races."

"Well, _that _doesn't help either."

She looked at him in confusion. "What?"

"Calling other people, 'lower races' isn't going to endear you to them."

She suddenly looked embarrassed. "Ah, I'm sorry Tsukune! It's wrong I won't do it anymore; please don't be angry with me!"

He blinked. "I'm not angry Moka, I just thought I would point it out, that's all."

She slowly nodded. As they approached Youkai she placed a hand on his arm and walked very close to him. He glanced at the hand on his arm, she usually avoided touching him except when she felt the need to punish.

"You don't mind do you?" She asked fearfully.

He gave her a tiny comforting grin. "No Moka, it's fine."

"Good I'm… eek!" Without warning she slipped and fell, momentarily exposing pink panties to all the world.

Tsukune helped her up quickly. Then he stared at the spot where she had fallen. _What the hell is a patch of ice doing here?_

XXXXXXXXXX

When Moka and Tsukune arrived in homeroom people were still talking. That was unusual. Normally the room would be silent whenever Moka strode in. People would sense her demonic aura coming and quiet down automatically. Even the way she entered the room was different. She slunk in, her shoulders lowered; worried and fearful of the welcome she would receive.

"Well, look who it is!" A girl's cheerful voice cut through the noise and got everyone's attention. "The vampire who thought she could beat up the Student President." Kurumu was grinning and enjoying her rival's sudden weakness. "Not so high and mighty now are we Moka dear?"

She stood there unable to respond, her whole body trembling. The way they were all looking at her she was suddenly reminded of middle school. She felt very alone.

That was when she felt Tsukune place a comforting hand on her shoulder. Her old self would have definitely punished him for that, but right now it gave her a sense of calm reassurance.

"Moka is very sorry for what she did to the president," Tsukune said calmly. "But she has already been punished for it. I don't think there is any reason to bring it up again."

Kurumu frowned, not pleased to see Tsukune riding to her defense.

Moka then surprised everyone, including Tsukune, by bowing to the entire class. "I want to apologize for my rude behavior to all of you. I am very sorry for the way I previously treated you. I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me, and that we can all become good friends!"

Most of the students just stared back dumbly. For them Moka was the definition of arrogance, she walked about with her nose in the air, never shy to remind you that you were too far beneath her to even be noticed. Some of the students wondered if this 'apology' was some sort of snide joke. Others assumed that the Chairman must have demanded she give one. And some saw it as a sign of weakness.

No one saw it for what it was.

"Friends?" Kurumu said coldly. "You have _got_ to be kidding."

"Moka offered you a sincere apology," Tsukune said, just a little bit of anger rising. "You could at least accept it and give her a chance."

Kurumu looked at him and answered as sweetly as she knew how. "I'll gladly give _you_ a chance if you want Tsukune darling."

That brought a round of laughter from most of the students and some hard looks from Kurumu's boyfriends. Sensei walked in and told everyone to be seated so they could begin.

Moka and Tsukune took their regular seats as Nekonome-sensei started going over the day's announcements. Looking behind him Tsukune saw that Mizore was not in class, he hoped there was nothing wrong with her.

XXXXXXXXXX

"So you're really nice now? Desu?" Yukari was staring at the new Moka not believing it. Meeting for lunch Moka had apologized to her as well.

The pink haired vampire nodded. "It's true; I have a very different personality from my other self. I promise not to be mean or hurtful anymore. So I hope we can be friends."

"So you're really not going to hurt Tsukune anymore?"

Moka shook her head. "No, I would never hurt Tsukune he's… very special to me."

"Well, if you really have changed then I'd love to be friends with you Moka!"

"Really?" Moka said happily.

"That's great Yukari," Tsukune said with relief.

"And you know what will help us form really strong bonds of friendship?"

"What?" Moka asked. Tsukune was also listening intently.

"All three of us sharing a bed together! We can all get naked beneath the sheets and press our hot sweaty bodies together, letting our hands and legs and mouths do whatever they want. That would be sooooo lovely." Yukari sighed and had a little drool running down her chin. Her eyes had a faraway look.

When she came back she saw Moka's face was red and Tsukune looked mildly horrified.

"You're kidding… right?" He asked with a weak laugh.

"Heh, yeah, sure I am," Yukari said. _Darn it!_

XXXXXXXXXX

At the beginning of each class Moka stood up and offered an apology to all those she had hurt or offended. Despite her efforts no one (other than Yukari) took her words at face value. People drew their own conclusions. They also noticed that she no longer had her demonic aura of that sense of raw power hanging over her.

People drew conclusions from that too.

XXXXXXXXXX

Walking back to the dorms both Tsukune and Moka knew something was wrong as a crowd of students approached them.

Tsukune stepped in front of her. "Please stay behind me Moka," he whispered to her.

"Tsukune! What are you doing?"

He grinned. "What? This isn't the first time I've fought for you. I'll protect you as best I can."

"Tsukune…" She watched as he walked towards a crowd of about thirty or so students. Her heart sank as her memories told her most of these boys had been beaten at the hands of her other self.

Tsukune recognized the other boy who was out ahead of the rest as Rikishi, head of the wrestling club. He was one of the idiots who'd thought he could make a name for himself by challenging Moka. The fool had gotten smashed in less than ten seconds for his troubles. Now he was back looking for a rematch.

"Get out of the way puppy," Rikishi sneered. "You're not the one I'm interested in."

"Funny, how you weren't interested in Moka a few days ago when she was at full strength," Tsukune took up a fighting stance and waited. "You're really brave to come after her now."

Rikishi gave him an evil look and tossed down the weights he'd been carrying as he transformed into an eleven foot tall troll. "If you want to be a warm up that's just fine." The other boys in the crowd hooted and laughed, they all seemed happy just to stand back and watch. "Just for a laugh I'll even give you one free shot. Come on and hit me as hard as you can."

"Fine," Tsukune muttered. He wondered if the fighting skills Moka had beaten into him would be enough against an opponent as imposing as this. Whether they were or not he would give it all he could.

Rikishi was smiling at the thought of beating the vampire's familiar while she watched. Then he saw Tsukune vanish before his eyes. The next second a train smashed into his chest and sent him flying. Crashing through a dozen tombstones he was no longer smiling by the time he came to a stop.

Tsukune stood there, fist still extended. He was staring at the impact point where Rikishi had finally landed. _Holy crap! Did I do that?!_

The boys in the crowd in front of him were just as stunned.

"No way!!" One of them howled. "No way could he take down Rikishi with one punch!"

"It's gotta be a trick!" Another one yelled.

"Get him! Tear him apart!" Another screamed.

The boys transformed into their true selves, the school rules be damned!

Tsukune plunged in and began beating them down. He didn't have any sort of plan in mind. He just knew he had to beat them. He got in among them and just let his training and his instincts take over. His speed was ungodly, he was a blur flying in among them delivering punches and kicks that his enemies could not even see, never mind block. He felt like an adult fighting a bunch of eight year olds. He could hurt them and they could barely touch him. _Is this how it is for Moka when she fights? _If it was he could understand her arrogance.

It only took a couple of minutes. When he was done they all lay in the road or just off it beaten and bloodied. A few were still conscious but no one was getting back up.

With the fight over Tsukune looked at the scene and felt a numb. "How did I do that?" He muttered.

He was surprised when Moka's voice answered him. "It's the seal."

He looked over to see her standing beside him, relief painted on her features. "What was that?"

She touched the rosario resting on her chest. "It has to be the seal," she explained. "Just now, you were using _a lot _more of my natural power than you had before. I… I think the reason is that since a lot of my power is being suppressed by the rosario's seal a lot of it is being passed on to you through our link. Normally you're given a tiny fraction that I'm not able to use. Since I'm not able to use most of it…"

"I… I have the power of a vampire?" He gasped.

But Moka shook her head. "No, you're not _that_ strong, but you're about as strong as a half vampire would be." She looked around at the beaten students. "Which is still pretty good."

Tsukune nodded. "Well, once people hear about this no one will bother you anymore."

She didn't look as happy as he'd expected her to. "And they won't want to be friends with me either," she said morosely.

"You have me," he told her. "You have Yukari and Shinobu, so no matter what you _do_ havefriends now."

She thought about that… and slowly smiled.

XXXXXXXXXX

In the nearby woods Kiria put a bookmark in place and went to tell Hokuto the news. _Half vampire huh? That's interesting._


	21. The Other Woman

As Tsukune and Moka returned to the dorm they saw a figure standing outside by their rooms waiting patiently. For once Mizore was waiting for him right out in the open. Her pure blue eyes watching him as he approached, flickering now and again to the girl at his side.

"What is she doing here?" Moka asked.

Suddenly feeling very nervous Tsukune grinned. "Ah, I think she may be here to talk to me."

Moka looked at him in surprise. She had never noticed him talk to the weird girl from home room. "Are you friends with her?"

"Heh, yes you could say that." Looking over to Mizore he wondered just what she was doing here. As they approached he greeted her. "Hey Mizore, what happened? You weren't in class today."

"I'm surprised you noticed," she said quietly. Her eyes shifted to Moka's, coldly staring her down. "You look very different."

Moka nodded, feeling nervous in the strange girl's presence. What was she doing here? "I am wearing a rosario that seals my powers," she explained. "It has also allowed a different side of my personality to come out. So from now on I won't be like I was. I will be a much kinder person than what you may be used to."

"Does that mean you're not going to hit Tsukune every time he says something you don't like?" She asked in a frosty tone.

Moka vehemently shook her head. "No, I am truly very sorry for that and have already apologized to Tsukune. I will never hit him again. From now on I intend to treat him as friend not as a servant."

Mizore said nothing for a moment. She continued to stare at the pink haired vampire. "If you're really going to stop hitting my Tsukune then I'm glad. But don't think everything has been forgiven." She went over to Tsukune and carefully took hold of one of his arms. "Come back to my room with me Tsukune, I've made dinner for us."

Moka stared wide eyed. "Tsukune? What is going on here? Why is this girl making you dinner?"

Tsukune looked at her nervously. He really liked this Moka and didn't want to hurt her. "Mizore is a really good friend to me, if you don't minds Moka I'm going to go eat with her. Is that all right?"

"Uhm, well I guess so," Moka said a bit bewildered.

Mizore looked at him, clearly unhappy. "Come on Tsukune." Pulling him by the arm she led him away.

Moka stood there and watched him go. _My Tsukune?_

XXXXXXXXXX

"Your friend?" Mizore said in an undertone. "Is that all I am now? Have you forgotten calling me your lover just the other night?"

"Mizore, I want us to keep our relationship secret for the time being," Tsukune said. "Moka's in a very vulnerable position right now and I'm not sure how she would handle knowing about us."

She looked up at him with hurt in her eyes. "Are you ashamed of being with me?"

"No! Of course not!" he stopped and pulled her into a quick hug. "You're a great girl and I really care about you a lot! Any guy would be lucky to be with someone as amazing as you!"

Having his arms around her and hearing his soft words eased her heart a bit. "Then why do you want to keep it a secret Tsukune? I'd like to shout it from the roof tops. I'd like to tell everyone that I'm your girl."

"I would like that too," he assured her. "But I'm worried about Moka and how she might react. More than her appearance has changed. She really does seem like a whole other person."

He thought of how he'd found her, broken and weeping, afraid to even face him.

"She's in a bad place right now and I'm just worried about how she might react to my having a girlfriend. She seems to be really depending on me a lot right now. I don't want to do something that is going to make her doubt that I am still at her side."

"I've noticed that," she said and pulled out of his embrace. "I noticed you walking at her side now instead of behind her. The two of you suddenly seem very close."

"It's not like that," he said.

"It's not?" Mizore questioned. "You defended her even when she was hitting you for no reason. Now if she really is going to be gentle with you maybe you'd rather be with her."

"It's not that way, I don't think about her like that." Though he sounded certain his words were a lie. He had always thought Moka incredibly beautiful and been attracted to her. Her kisses had set his soul on fire. And for a time the possibility of there being something between him and Moka had seemed real.

Then she had deliberately killed all the feelings he'd had for her with deliberate and wanton cruelty. Mizore had been there for him. She had never said a harsh word to him and had always accepted him. (Though he still feared to tell her he was human.) Whatever he might think of this new Moka **she **was his girlfriend now.

"Mizore-chan, I want to tell everyone you're my girlfriend too. It's just that now isn't a good moment. Please just give me a little time to let Moka accept you. I promise I'll tell everyone soon."

"How soon?" She asked.

"Uh, before the end of the semester?"

She thought about it, and slowly she nodded. "All right Tsukune, I love you so I guess I'll trust you. I'll wait, but you promise to tell everyone by then that you're my boyfriend?"

He held out his pinky as though he were a kid. Mizore wrapped hers around it. "I promise," he said. "Or a thousand needles in my eye."

The way she nodded as though he meant that literally made Tsukune a bit nervous.

XXXXXXXXXX

When they got to her room he could smell the aroma of fish baking.

Before he could ask about dinner Mizore took the lollipop from her mouth and kissed him. She threw herself into his arms so suddenly she knocked him to the floor. She lay on top of him her tongue swirling about inside his mouth.

"Mizore…" he gasped as soon as his mouth was free.

"Make love to me Tsukune! I want to make love to you right now! Don't make me wait!"

Straddling him she pulled off her shirt, against displaying those lovely pert breasts. Her hands were tugging at his belt.

He needed no additional encouragement and began to unbutton his shirt.

XXXXXXXXXX

Though all the lights in her room were off Moka was wide awake when Tsukune finally returned to his room more than three hours later. Because he was her familiar she'd known the moment he'd finally started to return.

Her immediate instinct had been to jump out of bed and confront him, demanding to know what he'd been doing.

Rather like a jealous wife.

Her fears of what he might say kept her from acting. She'd promised to treat him as friend from now on, not as a servant. She heard the door to his room open and shut. Heard water running and assumed he was taking a shower.

_Maybe he's wanting to get her smell off of him! _She thought bitterly.

Turning in bed she pulled the blanket up over her head. _No, _she thought. _I don't have the right to confront him. It's not like I'm his girlfriend or anything._

_Even though I want to be._

As much as she wanted to know what had happened she was just as afraid to find out. If he really had been with her, what then? She shut her eyes and tried to go to sleep and stop thinking about Tsukune and that other girl. But sleep did not come for some time.


	22. The Rhythm of his Breath

"Now as for our plans for the cultural festival things are proceeding smoothly," Hokuto droned on. "We've received excellent cooperation from just about all the classes and we should…"

Kurumu dropped her head on the table and stopped listening. When she had been chosen to replace Moka as class representative she'd been delighted. It was one more victory against her hated rival. And Hokuto, the class President, was majorly handsome and smart to boot. Meeting him she'd had some hopes that _maybe _she had finally found her destined one.

Urk, no such luck. Almost the first thing he'd said to her upon meeting was that using her charm abilities against a fellow student violated the school rules and if she tried it on him he'd have her expelled. He also told her he hoped she would give her duties her best effort and work hard to make the school a better place. He'd said all that politely and with a smile on his face, but it had still pissed her off. Good looking boys were _supposed _to be excited just to have her near. They weren't supposed to come at her with a bunch of demands.

She let out a self pitying sigh. Nothing had gone the way it was supposed to. She had come to the school planning to make all the boys her willing slaves; only to discover that _getting_ a harem was easy, maintaining one was hard work! She had to spend a lot more time with her boys than she ever would studying. And in spite of all her time and effort she was still no closer to discovering her destined one! Not one of the boys she had made her heart race. Not one of them made her weak in the knees. She couldn't see herself falling in love with _any _of them!

And though she always had her eyes open for potential candidates she still had zip. Oh some of them were good looking enough, some had lots of raw strength, and a few had both. But none of them made her heart go 'thump.' It was one of nature's ironies that succubi, who were the embodiments of lust, felt a powerful need to love just one person and mate with that person for life. A succubus could never feel truly happy or complete until she had found her 'destined one.'

And so far the only boy who had raised her interest, even just a little, was one of the few who gave her no real notice. There was just something about Aono Tsukune and his protective ways that gave her a little bit of a warm feeling. She would imagine how wonderful it would feel to have him worrying about her and always trying to protect her, not because he was charmed but because he wanted to.

A sour smile touched her lips. Thinking of Tsukune automatically made her think about Moka too. It had been a couple weeks now since the dramatic change. Everyone was now used to the quite simpering pink haired girl who was a pale reflection of the real Moka. Kurumu no longer considered her a rival. Despite her attractive looks no one could forget what she really was. All the boys stayed clear of her, except for one. How the mighty had fallen! Instead of looking down her nose at everyone she was perpetually nervous and worried about what others thought. If not for Tsukune Kurumu suspected the girl would be completely lost and hopeless. As it was she managed and even continued to get high grades, so long as she had Tsukune and the little witch she was all right.

Kurumu couldn't even get the satisfaction from Moka's fall that she should have since despite everything Tsukune was still with her. And, salt in the wound, he seemed to be openly friendly with Mizore while continuing to ignore her.

"It's just not fair," she muttered.

"I'm sorry," Hokuto stopped his boring speech and glanced at her. "Did you say something representative Kurumu?"

"Wha? Uh, no sorry."

"Please pay attention to what we are discussing," the president said with his usual polite smile.

"Sure," she said. He started talking about the success he and his associates had had in lowering the number of incidents with the rogue ayashi on campus. Apparently the Chairman was inviting him to come have a private meeting with him to discuss it.

Kurumu didn't pay much attention as her thoughts drifted off to what sort of outfit she should wear during the festival.

XXXXXXXXXX

The meeting had ended and Hokuto was getting ready to leave when two new arrivals entered the meeting room. He was surprised to see it was Moka and her familiar. He had not seen either of them since their little run in.

He greeted them both with a gracious nod. "Hello Moka, Tsukune, what can I do for you? I hope it is nothing unpleasant."

Moka quickly shook her head. She looked nervous and her knees were knocking together. "No, it's nothing like that; I actually came here to…" Taking a deep breath she bowed to him. "I wish to apologize to you for my rude behavior! I am sorry for my words and for attacking you! Please forgive me!"

Hokuto laughed softly. "Well I'd heard you'd been offering apologies to your classmates. I confess I wasn't sure if I believed that. However if you are sincerely apologizing then Of course I accept." He returned her bow. "And please do forgive the harsh things I said as well."

Moka nodded gratefully. "Yes, I'm glad we can forgive and put this to rest."

Standing at her side Tsukune also nodded, pleased both with her apology and Hokuto's courteous acceptance of it.

"Tell me Tsukune, what is your opinion of what I have been trying to do here? When I asked you back then I really did want to know."

His asking that had been what led to the confrontation. Since Moka no longer had an issue with his speaking his mind he told Hokuto just what he thought. "I really admire you and what you're trying to do. I think it's great that you want to make the school a better place and are willing to challenge the rogue ayashi and even the police committee. I really respect you, not just for your ideals but for your courage as well."

"Thank you Tsukune," Hokuto said warmly. "It was mainly for students like you that I have worked so hard. I feel for the weaker students who suffer abuse and torment for no other reason than they are weak."

At the mention of 'abuse and torment' Moka looked down uncomfortably.

"Though from what I hear you are no longer so weak," Hokuto continued. "Did you know Rikishi and some of the other boys you tangled with are still in the hospital?"

Looking embarrassed Tsukune scratched the back of his head. "Ah, I didn't mean to hurt them that badly. But when they came after Moka I didn't hold back."

"You know I admire the fact you are still so loyal to someone who was your abuser not too long ago, and only stopped because she no longer has the power to hurt you."

Tsukune frowned. "That's in the past now, and I don't blame the current Moka for what happened then."

"Current Moka?" He asked. "While her appearance is different and her powers are sealed she is still the same person who harmed you."

"That's not so," Moka said. "Along with sealing my powers the Rosario also seals a part of my personality. So I am a different Moka from the one Tsukune knew before."

"Really?"

"It's true," Tsukune said. "So since it's a different person I don't hold what the other Moka did against her. Moka and I started over again."

"It's admirable that you are so full of forgiveness," Hokuto said. "I know **I **could never just forgive and forget all the terrible wrongs done to me that easily."

Tsukune shook his head. "I haven't forgiven or forgotten, it's just that I can't hold _this _Moka to blame. It's the other Moka that did all that to me."

"And what would you say if _she_ asked you to forgive her?"

"I honestly don't know," Tsukune said. "I don't think _she _would ever say those words to anyone, especially not to me. But the chances are I'll never see her again."

"What do you mean?" Hokuto asked.

Moka grabbed her Rosario and gave it a couple of tugs. "My rosario has a special seal on it, I can't remove it myself. The only person who can take it off is my father, and I don't plan to see him any time soon."

"So there's no way for you to unleash your full strength?"

"No," Moka answered.

"Well, isn't that interesting?" Hokuto said quietly. "Tell me, would the two of you like to assist me with an important task? It's not something I can explain now but I promise you it will be something that really matters."

Moka was eager to make up for the harm her other self had done and Tsukune genuinely wanted to help the president in whatever he was trying to accomplish. They both agreed immediately.

"In that case please meet me tomorrow night at eight down in the academy basement. I'll come see you right after my meeting with the Chairman."

XXXXXXXXXX

"That went better than I expected," Moka said as they returned to the dorm.

"Hokuto is a really fair guy," Tsukune said approvingly. "I'm glad he accepted your apology, and I'm even happier he's going to let us help him."

"What do you suppose this task is?" Moka questioned.

"Who knows, but since he said it was important I'm sure it is." As he walked her to her door continued past. "Good night Moka."

"You're going to have dinner with her again?" Moka said sadly. "I was… I was hoping I could study with you tonight. You haven't been studying that much with Yukari either you know."

"I'm sorry, but I sort of promised to see her. Mizore is a really good friend to me, you know?"

"I know what she is to you," Moka said in a hurt whisper.

"What?"

"Nothing," Moka opened her door and stepped inside. "Good night Tsukune." She shut the door and locked it.

Tsukune shoved his hands in his pockets and got going, not happy about that last exchange.

XXXXXXXXXX

Dinner had been white rice and some stir fried vegetables. Mizore wasn't a great cook, but she still managed to be better than him and he appreciated her feeding him all the time. They were lying together in her bed after making love. Having her snuggled up against him felt nice and warm and he wouldn't have minded staying there.

Gently kissing her soft lips he began to slide out of bed and away from her. "I've got to go Mizore-chan."

She clutched his chest. "Why don't you stay? You can shower here and get back to your room to change. I'll even make you breakfast."

"You know I can't do that," he said kindly and pulled free of her grasp. "If I'm not there when Moka is ready she'll be really upset." He started getting dressed.

Mizore sat up in bed and looked at him. "I don't care! Let her be upset! I want you to stay with me."

"Mizore-chan…"

"Aren't I more important to you than her?"

He shivered. For some reason it suddenly felt cold in the room. "You already know how important you are to me," he said. "But Moka needs my support right now. I don't want her to feel like I'm abandoning her."

"No, it's me you're abandoning."

"You know it's not like that!"

"That's how it feels," she said sadly. "We're lovers, I want to fall asleep next to you and see you when I wake up. What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing," he said. "But you know my life isn't that simple right now. Moka is a big part of it and if I stayed here all night she would know what was going on."

"She already knows Tsukune," Mizore said flatly. "A woman always knows when the man she loves is with someone else."

"Loves?" He gave a shaky laugh. "Moka may care about me but she doesn't love me. We're not close like _that_."

"Men can be so blind sometimes." She said.

Shaking his head he finished dressing. "Stop worrying about that, you're my girlfriend not Moka." He gave her another quick kiss. "I'll see you in class tomorrow."

"I love you." Mizore said.

"I care for you too Mizore-chan."

He left quickly.

Still sitting up in bed she stared sullenly at the door. "Why won't you ever say you love me too?"

The empty room had no answer for her.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Why can't I make either of them happy? _He thought as he returned to him room.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Why can't he see how I feel? _Moka wondered as she felt his presence return to the room next to hers.

XXXXXXXXXX

After the lights in his room went out and Tsukune was fully asleep the front door opened with an unheard, 'click.' Mizore snuck in, closing and locking the door behind her. Creeping into his room she gave her man a light kiss on his lips that did not disturb him. She then slid underneath his bed where she could remain hidden even if he woke. She didn't have a pillow or blanket it was a little dirty, but she was near him. She could hear the steady rhythm of his breath and she knew they were together. That was enough and she soon drifted off to a pleasant sleep.


	23. The Offered Favor

"Rhett!" A weeping and broken hearted Scarlett called out. "If you go where shall I go? What shall I do?"

"Frankly my dear I don't give a damn," he said and walked away from her, vanishing into the evening fog.

The music rose and the screen faded to black as she was left powerless to do anything but watch him go. As the credits began to roll Shinobu shut off the television. "Well what do you think?"

"Are all human movies so depressing?" Moka asked.

To her it had looked like a fairy tale for Scarlett in the beginning. She had everything a girl could want, a grand home, riches beyond compare, a masculine, handsome, and charming man who would chase her and whom she could dismiss upon a whim... Why did that life look so familiar? Why could she see herself with a red dress and flowing curls running a plantation and suffering the travails of the Civil War. Even the ending, that horrible, tragic ending... why could she see herself being helpless as the one she loved abandoned her?

Moka's eyes turned to Tsukune; he had enjoyed the movie, but at the same time been dispassionate about the central couple. She could see all her misdeeds reflected in those eyes that had once held such warmth and tenderness. When he looked at her now there was no real feeling, it was if she were a stranger.

"No," Shinobu replied. "But for some reason humans find the tragic especially appealing. Many of their best loved stories involve lovers who can never be together because of death or some other cause. Here Scarlett spends most of her life pursuing someone who never has real feelings for her. While at the same time she denies her own genuine feelings and the love that Rhett holds for her. Her tragedy is that her love is misplaced."

"Actually I don't think it was," Tsukune said. "What she loved most of all were her parents and Tara, the plantation that was her home and represented everything noble and worthwhile in her upbringing. In a way everything she did was for Tara, she loved her home faithfully and honestly and in the end that was what she was able to save. Her tragedy is that she couldn't show the same honest love for Rhett. He did everything he possibly could for her, endured all her harsh words and betrayals, until finally he just gave up."

"But she finally realized that she really did love him!" Moka argued. "At the end she finally realized how special he was to her, that he was the only one who truly loved her."

Tsukune looked at her with a slight turn of his eyes and an apologetic smile. "But by then it was too late, Moka. Her love for him was always a small thing, insignificant, really. Her family, her wealth, her home always came first. That was where she put forth her effort. Those were the things that mattered the most to her. If you think about it just about everything she did with him was to use him for some other end. To get money for the plantation, to make Ashley jealous, to preserve her good name and place in society, everything she did with him had an ulterior motive. She treated him as nothing but a tool."

Moka flinched a bit hearing that.

Tsukune continued as though not seeing it. "Then just when she realized that she did have feelings for Rhett he was supposed to suddenly be overcome with gratitude because she had _finally _decided to return those feelings she'd abused for so long?"

Moka saw it, felt it in his pleasant, friendly, and unapologetic words.

He wasn't talking about Scarlett.

"Maybe they could have loved each other and been happy, maybe not. But I think true love is a pretty rare thing. It doesn't come around often. If you throw it away you can't expect it to just come back again. A person's heart doesn't work that way, especially not a human's, not everyone gets to live forever."

"But, Tsukune-" Moka tried to explain.

"It's okay, Moka," Tsukune tilted his head and stood from his chair to stretch his legs. "Two people who have the potential to love each aren't always meant to be."

Moka lowered her head and turned away. "I… suppose not."

XXXXXXXXXX

Entering the Academy's basement Tsukune found the light switch and turned it on. Most of the vast room was taken up with storage. Desks, chairs, and boxes filled with books and school supplies. And standing a bit out of place from all that was a control panel in the middle of what looked like a summoning circle.

"Just what do you suppose Hokuto wants us to help him with?" Tsukune wondered.

"I don't know Tsukune, but I'm sure it must be important," Moka said.

"Yes, I'm sure it is."

The two of them stood there in an uncomfortable silence as they waited.

"Tsukune," she asked quietly. "What would you say to my other self if you could talk to her again?"

He looked at her nervously. "Why? I thought there was zero chance of that."

"Well, it is pretty unlikely. My father is the only one who can remove my rosario. But if it were possible, what would you say?"

He smirked at her. "I'd probably ask for permission to write out my will and a last letter to my parents before she killed me."

"She wouldn't do that!" Moka said. "We are different sides of the same person and I know she would never hurt you!"

"Moka, please don't take this the wrong way, but even if you are two sides of the same coin I can't believe the 'real' you wouldn't beat the ever living hell out of me for the things I've done and said since your arrival." He laughed softly. "Knowing her just walking at your side would be enough to warrant a beating. Lump everything else in and I'd be damn lucky to survive."

"Why would you think that?" Moka cried.

"Weren't you there? Did you not see how many times she left me bloodied and barely able to move, to breathe?" He answered truthfully. "If she suddenly appeared again I wouldn't expect her to be any different."

"You make it sound like she hates you Tsukune, she doesn't you know. She… I, **we **have never hated you."

"Then that makes what she did worse, not better Moka."

The calm certainty of his answer only made her feel even more miserable and depressed. At least if he were angry there's be hope of a change of heart once the anger had time to fade. But he seemed to consider their break a fact like an algebraic equation. It was something that simply was and not a matter for debate.

As she considered some kind of reply the summoning circle around the console glowed with a bright white light. Up out of the floor the school president slowly materialized. When he was fully arrived the light faded away.

Hokuto noticed both of them and offered a friendly nod. "Tsukune, Moka, I am so glad you could both come. I wanted you both to be here to witness this."

Moka's nose twitched at the strong scent that was coming from him. "Hokuto!" She said in alarm. "Are you hurt? I smell blood on you!"

Laughing he held up both hands, they were stained red up to the wrists. In one he held a Rosario that looked very similar to Moka's. "No need to worry, it's the Chairman's blood, not mine." Without a hint of concern he stepped behind the console and placed the rosario into a slot. Immediately the console began to give off an ominous hum.

"The Chairman's blood?" Tsukune said dumbstruck. "What happened?"

"I killed him," Hokuto said simply. He was in a calm and relaxed mood. "Actually he was still breathing when I left but I'm sure he won't last long."

"That's impossible!" Moka said. "The Chairman is one of the three Hades Lords! You couldn't possibly defeat him!"

Hokuto lightly shook his head. "What did I tell you about arrogance? Just because you're a high and mighty vampire or Hades Lord doesn't mean you don't have weaknesses. Just like you he had too much pride and let me get in close where I could use the spells I've spent the last two years learning. I penetrated his defenses and took the Rosario of judgment away from him. Now my dreams will come true."

The ground shook a bit and the humming grew in pitch.

"Wha… what are you talking about? What are you doing?" Tsukune asked in a bewildered voice.

"I'm righting all the wrongs that were done to me, the same wrongs that you suffered as well Tsukune. You see, the two of us are a lot alike. I was just like you when I came here, a human trapped among monsters."

Tsukune's and Moka's eyes widened. "You know what I am?" Tsukune asked.

Hokuto nodded. "I actually learned about it from the Chairman's secret files. He knew as well. You see Tsukune you and I were both brought here on purpose in the hopes that as human beings exposed to monster society we could help form a 'bridge' between the human and monster worlds. We were nothing but lab rats brought in to be experimented on."

He stepped out from behind the console.

"I was abused by my family and desperate to escape from them. I really thought I was lucky to get into Youkai Academy. I thought it was an idyllic place far from home. I thought I could come here and live in peace and make friends." He laughed dryly. "Well that didn't happen of course. I found myself in a place where I could be killed just for being human. I had run away from home so I had nowhere else to go, I was trapped here."

He pulled off his jacket and rolled up his right sleeve revealing a gold lock at the end of a chain. "Just like you Tsukune I was abused. They didn't know I was human but it soon became apparent I was weak and so I was beaten and hurt by those who were stronger than me just for their petty amusement. I survived only because I managed to make one real friend. He gave me his blood and provided me with the power I needed to survive. And now finally I'm going to take revenge."

The ground shook again and some of the piled up boxes tumbled over.

"What's happening?" Moka cried.

Hokuto pointed to the console behind him. "That board controls the magical barrier that keeps this school hidden from human perception. With the rosario I just stole from the Chairman I'm going to bring it down and make this whole place visible! Even now outside the sky is cracking as the illusion is stripped away. In five minutes it will be down completely."

"But you can't do that!" Moka argued. "If you do you'll be exposing the existence of monsters to the humans in a way they won't be able to accept! You'll start a panic and they will come here to attack us!"

"Exactly," Hokuto agreed. "A bloody war between human and monster that will kill millions and exterminate most of the monster races and throw mankind back into the Dark Ages. What better way to get my revenge on both sides?"

Tsukune thought of his parents and of his cousin and of his many friends from middle school. He thought about Yukari and Mizore and others here at school. "Hokuto you won't just be hurting the ones who have hurt you though! You'll be putting innocent lives in danger!"

"I was innocent once too Tsukune, just like you." Taking hold of the lock he snapped it off, breaking the chain. "That innocence was stolen from me and I have to have my revenge, that's the only things that has given me any reason to keep going. But like I said, you remind me of myself, that's why I asked the two of you to come here."

"What do you mean?" Tsukune asked.

With the holy lock removed Hokuto's body transformed into a ten foot tall monster made of shiny metal parts hanging in open space. Only his face remained the same.

"I'm going to help you and free you from your tormentor," Hokuto told him. "I'm going to kill Moka for you."


	24. The Apology

Mizore was in her room quietly studying. Her grades were not especially important to her, but she needed to stay in school until her 17th birthday. She couldn't let herself flunk out and be separated from the one she loved.

As always happened when she was apart from, him a small corner of her mind wondered what he was doing and if he was all right. He would have had his weekly club activity today and she knew he was doing some chore for the student President as well. He had told her that he would be too busy to see her tonight.

And she was fine with that.

Completely fine with that.

It didn't bother her even a little bit.

Though… he would be spending the evening with Moka, first at club and then with the president. Then they would return home together. Moka would probably invite him to her room for some tea. He would politely agree. Once inside she would sit close to him as they discussed the evening's events. The sweet little pink haired vampire would 'accidentally' press her leg against his. He would pretend not to notice and then 'casually' put his hand on her knee. They would then look deeply into each other's eyes; they would whisper each other's names as they drifted closer. And then…

"Stop it!" She muttered to herself angrily. "I'm his girlfriend not her," she reminded herself out loud. "I trust Tsukune, he made me a promise and I trust him." Through an act of will she pushed aside her suspicions and concentrated on match. The semester finals were coming up soon.

She'd been working intently for more than two hours when she felt the earth shake. Looking up startled she saw a clay mug slip off the edge of the table and crash. Outside her door she heard some shouting going on. School work forgotten she got up and exited her room.

Outside she spotted several girls who here pointing up. Mizore was as startled as anyone else to see the sky was cracking open. Her jaw hung open and her lollipop nearly fell out. When she gathered herself she got moving. Obviously something very bad was going on, what it was she neither knew nor cared. All that mattered to her was that she find Tsukune and make sure he was safe.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Kill me?" Mika gasped. "But why? I haven't done anything."

"What do you call all the beatings you gave to Tsukune? Do you think the misery and pain you inflicted on him is _nothing_?" Hokuto took a lumbering step forward with his metallic form. "In your own way you're _worse _than any of the monsters who tormented me. They would abuse me for fun, but it was random and they would forget about me for long stretches until they got bored. You kept him chained to your side and abused him constantly. So tell me again how you haven't done anything."

"But…" She wanted to argue, yet the truth was she had inflicted terrible harm on him, all of it for no real reason at all. She was another side of Moka, but they _were _the same person. Could she really stand there and claim to be innocent? Her hand was the same one that had struck him again and again. _Why should he love someone as horrible as me? _She thought miserably. "I…"

"She hasn't done anything to me!" Tsukune said loudly and stepped in front of her. "She isn't the Moka who hurt me and I don't blame her for what the other one did!"

"Tsukune," she whispered.

He turned to her. "I don't hate you Moka, and no matter what I'll protect you! I won't let anyone hurt you."

"Thank you," she felt warm tears suddenly slide down her cheek. "Thank you Tsukune."

Hokuto looked on in surprise. His still human face grinned and shook slightly. "You really are the most forgiving sort aren't you? After everything she did to you I think you just might be a candidate for sainthood."

"I haven't forgiven anything," Tsukune said. "And to be honest I'm not sure whether or not I could forgive the other Moka for some of the things she's done. But that has nothing to do with this Moka. I haven't known her long but I know she's a completely different person. I won't let you lay a finger on her!"

"Is that what you _really_ believe Tsukune?" Hokuto asked. "Or is that just a convenient excuse to keep yourself from making some hard decisions? There is only one vampire named Moka, and no matter her hair color or her aura she is the same person who made you a pet and beat you whenever she pleased. That rosario she wears suppresses her power and some of her personality, it hasn't given her a hew soul. She is still the person who wronged you, and she needs to pay for it or you will never be free of her."

"That's not true!" Moka said. "I've already offered to release him from our contract. He declined because he wants to stay here, and it's safer for him to do that if he can use my strength."

"That's true," Tsukune said loudly. "Since she put on the rosario Moka hasn't done one thing to me. She doesn't deserve to be, hurt, never mind killed."

Hokuto looked at him in open wonder. "You really believe that don't you? You truly are a good guy Tsukune, you're a dreamer. You're the kind of man I was only pretending to be. I wish we could have gotten to know each other a long time ago. I think the two of us could have been real friends."

The ground shook gain, this time much more violently that before.

"Can you sense it?" Hokuto asked. "That scent drifting in the air? Like blood mixed with ashes, it's the scent of the coming world. Everything will be burned away and a new age will begin tonight."

"Hokuto-san," Tsukune stepped forward towards him. "Please stop this! Even if you have been wronged that doesn't justify what you're doing! You're going to kill million of innocent people and bring misery to millions more. What will that accomplish?"

"It will give me revenge," Hokuto replied. "Revenge against an uncaring humanity that refused to believe me when I said by fine upstanding parents were monsters. Revenge against an equally uncaring monster realm that allows the weak to be the playthings of the strong. So long as I get revenge nothing else matters to me."

"I can't let you do that," Tsukune said. "I have too many people I care about to let you do this. If you won't stop it then I'll have to stop you."

Hokuto laughed. "That would be impossible Tsukune, even if you _do _have the power of a half vampire you're no match at all for me. My body is hardened steel and unlike you I have spent the past two years building up my power. I defeated a Hades Lord and I have the strength of a Vampire Elder within me. You have no chance at all Tsukune."

"That doesn't matter!" He yelled. "Even if I have no chance at all I won't just stand by and let you do this!"

With all his strength he hurled himself at Hokuto.

He slammed his fist into the girder like appendage that had been his right leg. Despite hitting it with all his might his fist just bounced off. Tsukune grunted in sudden pain. Hokuto hadn't been exaggerating his body really was like steel.

"You see?" Hokuto admonished. "What can you do?"

"I can try!!" He yelled and launched a wild series of kicks and punches at the lower half of Hokuto's body.

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

Like a drill press slamming down the sounds of his punches and kicks reverberated though the empty basement ringing out one after the other. His knuckles began to bleed as he pounded them against the unbending for of Hokuto. Again and again he struck in a desperate frenzy trying to find some weak point that could stop his opponent.

Hokuto stood there allowing Tsukune to pound at him. For all his fury his punches and kicks could do nothing at all to him. He felt no pain and knew his opponent gad no chance against him. He really did admire Tsukune; his passion against hopeless odds reminded him of himself.

But even so…

Hokuto transformed his right arm into a huge sickle. "You really do need to stop now." He slashed down with the huge blade, catching Tsukune right clean across the chest. He cut deeply into his rib cage and sent blood gushing out of him as he sent the poor boy flying.

"TSUKUNE!!" Moka screamed as she raced to catch him.

She succeeded, getting into his trajectory and cushioning him with her body before he could slam into the far wall. They crumpled together onto the ground.

"Tsukune!" She cried out, there was so much blood! "Tsukune talk to me are you all right?!"

The ground shook and plaster from the ceiling began to fall in.

Tsukune lifted his weary head to look at her. He coughed and a dribble of blood came from the corner of his mouth.

"Tsukune," she said with tears running down her face. "It's all right; I'll take you somewhere safe. We can get out of here."

"No," he croaked. With one arm covering his enormous wound he struggled to his feet. She got up too, supporting him with both arms. "Moka, you get out of here, I have to stop him."

"What are you talking about?" She demanded. "It's obvious you're no match for him! If you fight him again you'll die!"

"Then I guess I'll die," he said calmly. "But I'll die fighting to protect the people and the things I love." He smiled at her through his pain. "And that includes you Moka."

"Wha… what?"

"I love you," he said. "I know it's probably stupid of me to feel that way. Even if you see me as a friend now I know you're still a vampire and I'm still a human. I know you could never love a lower being like me, but that doesn't change how I feel. I just can't help loving you. Whatever happens to me Moka I want you to live."

"You… you really love me?" She said in disbelief.

"I really love you," he told her. The ground began to shake once more. "There's no more time Moka. Please go!" As chunks of the ceiling fell he tried to push her away.

As he did so his hand caught on the rosario. It popped off its chain even as cement blocks fell down upon them.

XXXXXXXXXX

Hokuto laughed as the earth shook and the ceiling began to break and fall in. The Academy itself would not last much longer. He would laugh as it came down, this hated symbol of 'coexistence' between man and monster. The idea of peace between them was never anything but a ridiculous fantasy, a lie. Hatred and war were the only real truths.

His laughter cut off as he felt a familiar demonic aura. One he'd felt at many Student Committee meetings. He looked over to the far wall to see a pile of debris where Tsukune and Moka had been a moment before. As he watched a number of the cement blocks were tossed aside and a dusty figure emerged.

With her right arm the vampire Moka cleared away the rubble and climbed out. With her left arm she held an unconscious Tsukune close to her so that she could shield him from the falling debris. Her silver hair was dirty and dusty and her school uniform badly torn. She climbed out and then very, very gently laid him down on the floor.

She put a hand to his cheek and whispered to him even though he was unconscious. "You will be all right Tsukune, you are my familiar and my power will heal you." Bending down she placed a tender kiss on his forehead. "You can rest now; I will finish this for you."

She then stood and turned to face Hokuto.

"It seems…" Hokuto began to speak when his voice failed him. He was hit by an overwhelming intent to kill. His heart began to race as he felt something he had not for a while now… real fear. All at once memories of being little boy being beaten by his father and those first few murderous weeks at the academy came rushing back. Instinctively he put his arms up in front of his face and began to cower. _Wait! What am I doing?! I have nothing to be afraid of!! _Gritting his teeth he put his arms down faced her head on.

"I thought you couldn't remove your seal," he said trying to hide his discomfort.

"I cannot," she said with a mounting anger. "It was Tsukune who removed it. I had thought it impossible for anyone but my father to do so."

"Maybe it's because he's your pet," Hokuto mocked. He regretted those words immediately as the killing intent actually increased and he had all he could do not to take a step back.

"Don't you dare mock him," she growled as she clenched her fists. "He risked himself to protect me and everyone else which makes him a hundred times more of a man than you. Do you have any idea what you have done? Do you have any idea what it is you have unleashed inside me? You haven't just made me your enemy; you've filled me with an unspeakable fury."

He tried to laugh but it came out as a sick wheeze. "So much anger just because I hurt your pet?"

"He is not my pet!" She screamed. "He is the one I love!! Now know your place!"

Before his eyes she vanished.

**WHAM!**

One single kick hit him in the center of his metallic chest. He was sent flying through the air and into the opposite wall.

"Ugggh!" He cried as he slammed into it. It was more shock then pain, after Tsukune's best efforts he hadn't thought Moka's would be any more effective. His eyes widened as he looked down to where she'd hit him, the metal bar had snapped.

He then heard the mounting humming that had filled the room begin to quickly fade away. Moka was at the control console with the rosario of judgment in her hand. The console was powering down which meant the illusion surrounding the academy would not come down now.

"You said you were like Tsukune earlier," Moka spoke with raw hate as began walking towards him. "You are **nothing **like him. Your sufferings broke you until all that mattered in your heart was getting revenge. Even if that revenge destroyed millions who had never done you any harm. Despite all the terrible things I did Tsukune never gave into his hate or his despair. He still loved and cared about others, even me. He was ready to die for the sake of the people he loved and that makes him infinitely better than you. You are nothing compared to him, and for hurting him I am going to end your miserable life."

Hokuto got back to his feet and tried to seem confident. "There's that same arrogance that got you into trouble. Don't be so sure of yourself! I defeated a Hades Lord, even a vampire is no match for me."

"Oh, I am not just a vampire," she told him. "I am something far worse. I am a woman avenging the man she loves. Nothing in heaven or hell is more terrible than that!"

She again disappeared and a rain of blows fell on him. He could not even see where she was to try and defend himself. She moved so quickly all he caught were her after images. She seemed to be all around him all at once. Her punches and kicks broke and snapped his metal body; he was helpless as she broke off his arms, legs, and then chest.

At the end he was nothing but a human head connected to a bit of metal spine. The very last thing he saw was her unforgiving red eyes as she delivered the killing blow.

XXXXXXXXXX

With the fight ended she gathered Tsukune into her arms and got him out of the academy. Despite his gruesome wound she knew through their connection that he was not in danger and that he would recover. The entire campus was in chaos, the ground was no longer shaking and the sky had returned to normal but the students and faculty were running about trying to figure out what had happened. The last thing she wanted was to spend time explaining things to a bunch of frightened students and teachers.

There was something much more important she needed to take care of first.

XXXXXXXXXX

As Tsukune slowly woke he saw a velvet moon in the night sky above him. He was sitting out in the woods near the academy with his back propped up against a tree.

"How are you feeling Tsukune?" A deep familiar voice asked him.

He gasped when he looked over and saw the old Moka standing in front of him. Her school uniform was badly shredded and he could see part of her bra through a tear in her shirt. His first instinct was to ask if she was going to kill him, but she didn't _seem _angry. Remembering what had happened there were more urgent questions he needed the answers to. "What happened to Hokuto? Was he stopped? Is there going to be a war?"

She motioned with one hand for him to calm himself. "Hokuto is dead and the danger is now over."

He nodded with relief. "How did you manage to come back? I thought you couldn't be freed by anyone except your farther."

"You freed me," she told him. "I don't know why or how, but it seems you have the ability to remove my seal. So in a way it was you who saved everyone Tsukune."

He immediately shook his head. "No, I didn't do anything except almost get killed."

"You fought when no one else could have," she said. "You could have run or just stepped aside but instead you fought to protect me and everyone else. You are a hero."

"But…"

"No buts," she said firmly. "Accept my praise, it is well deserved."

"Thank you," he said quietly.

An uncomfortable silence filled the air between them as neither one was sure how to proceed.

"Are you… are you going to punish me for the things I've done and said since you were sealed?" Even though she had just called him a hero he knew how fervently she believed in punishing perceived slights.

With an unhappy look she shook her head. "Didn't my other side tell you that I would never hurt you again? I will **never **again hurt you or treat you like that. I…"

Her legs trembled and her hands shook as she fought to say the words she so desperately needed him to hear. Even now her pride held her back.

_To hell with pride! _She finally decided.

Tsukune was shocked when she fell to her knees in front of him and lowered her face to the ground. It was a gesture not just of apology but of abject submission. "Please forgive me Tsukune! I know how terribly I have wronged you and I am so deeply sorry. My vampire pride was my everything, Tsukune. It is my Tara, and I thought it more important than anything else. The reason… the reason I was so terrible to you after we returned to the academy was because I realized I had fallen in love with you."

"Wha… what?" He couldn't believe it. It had to be a mistake. Moka could never feel that way for someone as unworthy as him.

But it was no mistake. "I love you," she repeated loudly and clearly. Keeping her face to the dirt and not looking to see his reaction. "I always believed my pride had to come before all else. But after almost losing you, after hearing your feelings for me, I finally realized my pride means nothing without you there at my side. I am casting my pride away, kneeling before you Tsukune, a human, and pleading, groveling, asking for your forgiveness... please, please, please Tsukune," tears fall down a cheek and into the dry earth. "Forgive me."

She did not look up.

She heard a slight grunt as she stood and crackle of dry leaves being stepped on as he came to her. She felt his gentle hands on her shoulders as he helped her back to her feet. When she finally looked into his face she saw his chocolate colored eyes looking at her with that same warm affection they'd once held.

"I forgive you," he said. "And I love you too Moka."

"Tsukune…"

She was in his arms and he was kissing her. All the old hurts and fears melted away as she could feel his love for her healing her wounds and washing away all the old bitter feelings that had stained her heart for so long.

For the first time in her whole life she was really, truly, happy.

XXXXXXXXXX

In the shadows Mizore silently turned away and ran back to her room.


	25. The Breakup

After sharing many kisses the silver haired Moka finally told him that they would have to tell everyone just what had happened and return the Rosario of judgment to the chairman. Since the prohibition against her being unsealed still applied she would have to put her Rosario back on.

"I will wait until we can be together again my precious Tsukune," she said and gave him one last kiss. "Until then take care of the other Moka. Oh, and just so you know, she loves you the same as I do."

She had then placed the Rosario back on its chain and reverted back to her pink haired version.

Much of the rest of the night was spent trying to sort out the confusion and explaining to various teachers and administrators just what had happened. It was well past midnight when they returned to the dorm.

Without a word he and the pink haired Moka began kissing and quickly entered her room. The feelings they'd both hidden for so long exploded.

"Moka!" He cried out as he made fervent love to her. "Moooooka!"

She cried out as well as pleasure filled every corner of her body. Their first real night together was filled with joyous lovemaking. They forgot all their problems as they simply held onto each other.

But when the morning came the problems were still there.

One problem especially.

"Uh Moka, there's something I want to ask you about," he said feeling uncomfortable.

"What is it Tsukune?"

"Well… how do I tell Mizore? You know, about us?"

"Oh!" Moka said startled. "I've been so happy about finally being with you that I'd sort of forgotten about her." Moka looked up at him a bit worriedly. "You **are **going to break up with her, right?"

"Of course!" He said immediately. "I love you Moka and I want to only be with you!"

She nodded, feeling relieved. "I'm glad; I love you too and don't want to be with anyone else. Ah, Tsukune… were you and she, uhm lovers?"

Tsukune's face turned red and he broke eye contact. "Ye… yes," he answered in a small voice.

"I see," Moka said. "I suspected you were."

"Moka it was just… it was just…"

"Just what Tsukune?" She asked patiently.

"It was just that I… I really needed someone and Mizore was there when I needed her and she and I, we just… it was just…"

"It's all right," Moka told him gently. "I understand, the way my other self rejected you I can't blame you for turning to someone else. I can accept it," she looked at him pointedly. "So long as it is in the past now."

"It is," he said firmly. "But I still don't know how to tell her about us. I really do care about her a lot. She's always been good to me and she was there when I really needed her. I don't want to hurt her."

"Tsukune, she loves you and you're breaking up with her to be with another girl. There's no way you're not going to hurt her."

"I know." He looked utterly miserable. "I never even went on a date before coming here so I don't know how to do this right."

"Well, just try to be as kind as you can as you tell her. But be honest too! She needs to know that you two are no longer together and that you're with me now! You won't be doing her a favor if you give her any false hope."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." He let out a weary sigh. He really did care about Mizore. She was an absolutely wonderful girl and had been nothing but good to him. The problem was that he could help who he fell in love with. If there had been no Moka… but there was, and now that she was finally returning his feelings he couldn't not be with her. "When do you think I should tell her?"

"Now," Moka said.

"Now?" He blinked. "You mean right now?"

"The sooner she knows the better," Moka reached out and took his hand. "Come on I'll go with you."

"Uh, isn't this something I should do alone?"

"Do you think you can?" She asked frankly.

"Good point," he said weakly. He'd faced an angry Moka, fought for his life against Midou, and battled Hokuto with the fate of the world on the line. Yet he was more scared of facing Mizore now than he had ever been before.

Hand in hand they went to talk to her.

XXXXXXXXXX

Mizore hadn't gone to bed.

She'd stayed up all night. In front of her were the violets he had bought her, she had pressed them so as to preserve them. She had the ticket stub from the first movie he had taken her too. She had one of his shirts, she'd stolen it from his laundry basket and it had his scent. She also had one of her pillows, it too had his scent.

She was sitting on the floor by her bed, surrounded by her precious keepsakes and reminders of him. She had gone into her scrapbook and reread all the passages since the first one where she had noticed him by the cliffs. She remembered all the moments they had shared. His first gestures of kindness, their first trip to the arcade, their first meal together, their first film, their first date, their first kiss, their first… their first time making love. Reading her entries brought each moment back to her vivid and clear. With the tips of her fingers she lightly touched her lips, remembering the soft feel of his kisses. She remembered the way he had touched her, the way he had wanted her. She remembered feeling him inside of her, feeling his love as he made her cry out.

Those things couldn't be fake, all those feelings, the look in his eyes as he held her, they had to be real.

Taking her pen she began putting in a new entry. It filled page after page as she scribbled her thoughts down furiously. In part it read:

I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me.

I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me.

I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me. I know he loves me…

She was still writing when a knock came at her door. She calmly put her pen down and got up to answer it. When she opened the front door Tsukune was standing there with Moka. They both looked uncomfortable.

Her pupilless blue eyes flickered a bit but gave away nothing of what she was feeling at that instant. "Good morning," she said as though it were just another day. "Why are the two of you holding hands?"

They let go of each other as if feeling guilty. "Mizore-chan, there's something I need to talk to you about." Tsukune began.

"What is it Tsukune-kun?" She asked calmly

"I… I…" he took a deep breath and like ripping off a band aid rushed in. "I am in love with Moka! I am very sorry but I am breaking up with you!"

And just as the other Moka had done the previous night he fell to his knees and lowered his face to the floor. "I am so sorry Mizore! Please forgive me!"

Mizore stood in her doorway looking at the prostrated Tsukune, still calm.

"Didn't you hear what he just said?" Moka asked. Of all the possible reactions she hadn't imagined such a complete and glacial tranquility.

Mizore turned her eyes her way, and Moka felt an instant of dread. She imagined seeing her own death being reflected in those serene eyes. "I heard what he said," her voice not simply calm, it was lifeless. She reached down with one hand to help Tsukune back up. "Please don't kneel to me Tsukune-kun, there's no need."

He got up and looked over at her feeling ashamed. "I really am so sorry Mizore."

The lollipop in her mouth moved slowly from one side of her mouth to the other. "Since you're breaking your promise to me does that mean you'll stick a thousand needles into your own eye?"

Tsukune gulped, she sounded _awfully _serious about that.

"Promise?" Moka asked.

"He was ashamed of being my boyfriend and didn't want you to find out," Mizore explained. "He asked me not to tell anyone and promised he would tell people I was his girlfriend before the semester ended."

"Oh, I see," Moka replied weakly.

Mizore turned her focus back to her. "Does he like to suck your nipples?"

"What?" Moka gasped.

"Your nipples," she repeated calm and unshaken. "Does he like sucking them? He loved doing that with me; I just wanted to see if it was the same. When he's inside of you pounding away does he cry out your name? Does he scream it like he were crying out to god?"

"Mizore please!" Tsukune cried. He could see Moka turning a very deep red.

"Are you so ashamed of what we did Tsukune?" Mizore asked softly, the barest hint of pain in her voice.

"No," he told her. "I'm not ashamed of any of it! You're a wonderful girl and I was luckier than I deserved to have you be with me!"

"But I'm not Moka." Mizore said.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Mizore."

"Neither of us planned this Mizore," Moka said. "Truthfully we don't want to hurt you."

"Then give him back to me and I won't be hurt." She looked at Moka and allowed some of the raw pain to come out. "Let him go Moka... Let him come back to me. I love him... I love him so much... You couldn't love him the way I do."

"But I do!" Moka cried. "I love him every bit as much as you!"

"No," Mizore said icily. "If you loved him the way I do you could **never **have hurt him!" She looked at him pleading. "Is she really so much better than me Tsukune?"

He hated this, hated hurting her. "Mizore please understand, I really love her."

"But you never loved me?" Her voice was a whisper. "You say those words so easily to her. Why could you never say them to me? Was it because you always knew it would be a lie? Or was it becasue you were always ashamed?"

Tsukune and Moka both stared back at her in despondent silence.

"I'm sorry," Tsukune said once more. "If there's anything I can do to make this easier I will."

Mizore thought for a moment and slowly nodded. "There is one thing you can do Tsukune, the cultural festival is coming up and my mother will be visiting on the last day. I'd written to her about you _before_ the promise and she wants to meet you. Pretend to be my boyfriend for just that one day and I'll consider that you didn't break your promise to me. Let me get to tell her that you still love me and pretend that you still do. Could you do that?"

"Uh Mizore, I don't think that's such a good idea." He told her. "I don't think it would be good to pretend we're still together when we're not."

"Why not?" She asked coolly. Out of nowhere a blast of arctic air made Moka and Tsukune shiver. "You pretended _not _to be my boyfriend when you really were. How is this different? Or is it just that Moka is the only one you'll tell lies for?"

Tsukune was going to answer when Moka placed a hand on his arm.

"Tsukune, go ahead and do this for her. I think you owe her at least this much."

Tsukune looked at her in surprise. "Are you sure Moka?"

She nodded. "It's only a week away, and I don't mind if it makes things easier for her." She spoke to Mizore. "We'll keep our relationship a secret until after the festival. That way no one will accidentally say anything to your mother."

Mizore gave a single curt nod. "Thank you," she muttered beneath her breath. She looked back at Tsukune. "So you'll do this for me Tsukune-kun?"

He glanced at Moka to make sure she was really all right with this. At her signal he answered. "Yes, I'll pretend to be your boyfriend for as long as your mother is here."

"Thank you Tsukune-kun," she said softly. "I am really looking forward to that night."

Without being obvious she cast a sideways glance to Moka.

_I am really looking forward to it._


	26. The Kiss

Despite the attack on the Chairman, the death of the Student President, the slight damage to the Academy and other buildings, and the near apocalypse that had only just been averted school life quickly got back to normal. The final preparations were made for the festival and the campus buzzed with excitement. For three days there would be no regular classes and the students would get to enjoy a working holiday. Many were also looking forward to seeing parents and friends come to visit.

True to their word Moka and Tsukune kept their promise and did nothing to arouse suspicion that they were more than friends, more than master and familiar. In public they didn't. When they were alone Tsukune was busy making up for the long hours he had to be restrained. Each night was spent in her bed; worshipping her warm body and making her beg him for even more.

Mizore also seemed utterly normal to the other students. Except for Kurumu none of them had even suspected she and Tsukune were a couple, and none of them now had even a clue that her heart was in turmoil. As usual she kept to herself and went through the days an almost invisible shadow.

And so on the first day of the festival the buses arrived bringing in the alumni and family members who would be the festival's customer base.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kurumu greeted her mother proudly surrounded by all 30 members of her male harem. "Momma! These are my devoted pets." She announced loudly.

Ageha looked them over with a wary smile. "That's wonderful dear, really wonderful." She then leaned in close to her daughter and whispered in her ear. "So are any of them worthy of becoming your destined one?"

She frowned slightly. "I haven't been able to sort one out yet but I'm sure at least _one _of them must be monster enough for me. And I think I've finally come up with a way to find him."

"Really?" Ageha sounded very interested. "What do you have in mind Kurumu dear?"

She turned to face her boys. "All of you fight to the death! Last one standing gets to be my man!"

Most of the boys looked shocked, but an instant later there was a massive scrum as they all began to attack each other.

Ageha put her face in her hands and shook her head. "Kurumu-chan this isn't the way to find your destined one."

Kurumu shrugged. "Yes, I know, but to be honest trying to take care of so many needy boys is just too much work!"

XXXXXXXXXX

"Werewolf rides!" Ruby shouted. "Werewolf rides! Just 500 yen for a five minute ride on a werewolf's back!"

There was already a line of small children outside a small make shift riding pen. A fully transformed, and naked, Gin was on all fours with a saddle on his back. His girlfriend Ruby was at his side holding his leash, literally, with riding crop in her right hand.

He turned his snout to her and spoke. "Come on Ruby, this is just so humiliating."

Whack!

"Ow!" Gin cried as he got hit with the riding crop.

"You know better than that hon," she said sweetly. "What is my title?"

"Mistress," he whimpered and put his head down.

"That's right," she purred. "Now be an obedient little pet and I promise to reward you tonight."

XXXXXXXXXX

Kurumu and Ageha stared at the thirty bodies piled up in front of them.

"They all killed each other?!" Kurumu shouted in disbelief.

"I told you this wasn't a good idea." Ageha said sympathetically.

"This is terrible!" Kurumu cried in despair. "Now I have to start all over again!"

Ageha sighed and walked away pretending not to know her.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Gold fish scooping!" Moka called out. "Who would like to try gold fish scooping?"

Dressed in a stunning yukata that depicted stars in the night sky her stall was soon swamped by male customers. She began feeling overwhelmed until she felt someone grab her hand and pull her away from the crowd.

"Excuse us!" Tsukune shouted.

To the mass disappointment of all her would be customers the two of them soon vanished.

"Tsukune, I'm supposed to take care of the stall," Moka said.

"Someone else can take care of that," he told her with a grin. "We have a premiere to attend, remember?"

Her eyes widened at the reminder. "Oh! That's right! I'd almost forgotten!"

He chided her playfully. "Geez Moka, what kind of movie star are you?"

That made her laugh as well.

XXXXXXXXXX

Outside room 215 Shinobu was dressed up in a kimono watching the door like a hawk as she took money and handed out hand written tickets. Outside the door was a single poster with the images of the silver haired Moka and Tsukune beneath the title, 'THE VAMPIRE'S KISS.' The graphic arts club had made it for her in exchange for free tickets to the film.

When Shinobu spotted them she gave them an annoyed look. "You guys are late; I was actually starting to wonder if you were going to miss the premiere."

"No way Shinobu-chan, Moka's been talking about it all day." He gave his girlfriend a conspiratorial wink that made her giggle.

Shinobu narrowed her eyes. "You two are acting kind of weird," she said accusingly. "Is something going on between you two?"

"Who us?" Moka asked innocently. Now it was Tsukune who laughed.

"You're weird," she repeated. "Anyway go on in there are two seats in the front for you."

They went inside and were very happy to see most of the seats already filled. 215 was just a regular class room but the desks had been replaced with about 80 folding chairs with an aisle left running down the middle. An ordinary school projector would run the film on a classroom screen. Shinobu would take care of everything for today from selling the tickets to running the projector and clearing the room afterwards.

Two of the folding chairs at the very front had signs with 'reserved' taped to them. Moka and Tsukune sat down and waited for it to begin. After coming back from filming Shinobu had done all the editing and other work to turn their film into an actual movie. Neither of them had in fact been allowed to see it and they were both excited to learn how it had come out.

Outside the door a girl with purple hair and purple striped leggings approached. Shinobu vaguely recalled seeing her in the halls once in awhile but didn't know her. The girl handed her a 500 yen coin.

"One please."

Shinobu gladly took her money and handed her a ticket. "We'll be starting in about 5 minutes, enjoy the show."

"Thank you," the girl replied politely and went inside.

She spotted the happy couple sitting up front with their heads together whispering. She automatically went to the back of the room and took a seat where she would not be noticed.

When Shinobu sold the last ticket she stepped inside the class room and shut the door. She went to the front of the class and spoke. "Welcome, and thank you for coming to the premiere of the movie club's presentation, 'The Vampire's Kiss. I am the club president and here are my fellow club members and stars of the production Akashiya Moka and Aono Tsukune, stand up you two."

They did so and turned nervously to the audience as they received polite applause, most of it directed towards cute Moka. In the back Mizore applauded courteously and remained low in her seat, neither Tsukune nor Moka noticed her. The two of them sat back down.

"Now I hope you will all enjoy our film," Shinobu stated. She then shut off the lights and got to the projector to begin running it.

XXXXXXXXXX

The sound was little scratchy at certain points and in some scenes the camera shook just slightly. But the film turned out to be surprisingly good for a school production. The silver haired vampire was convincing playing a monster with conflicted feelings towards her human prey. Tsukune was also very believable as an ordinary human trying to deal with a monster who could destroy him at any moment if she felt the urge.

The film had been brutally edited to run for one hour and twenty five minutes and flowed well, building drama as they approached the climaxing scene.

As they watched themselves on screen Moka and Tsukune drew closer to each other as they both to anticipate what was coming.

"Vampires aren't only cruel you know," the Moka on the screen said. "We can love. We can love very strongly… if not always wisely."

In their seats Moka and Tsukune were no longer looking at the screen but into each other's eyes.

"Moka," he whispered lovingly.

"Tsukune," she breathed.

"Did you know that when a vampire grants a blessing it's always with a kiss?"

On the screen Moka drew close to him, mimicking what the two were doing in the darkened room.

"Close your eyes."

As Tsukune kissed the silver haired Moka on screen he also kissed the pink haired one sitting beside him.

From her seat in the back Mizore watched silently as the boy she loved kissed two versions of another girl.

Tsukune and Moka quickly drew apart as they heard the applause as the screen darkened. A moment later the lights came up and Shinobu forced them to stand again and receive the applause of the entire room. For the entire movie club it was a spectacular triumph.

XXXXXXXXXX

As the room emptied Shinobu straightened up some of the seats and got ready to sell tickets to the next showing. She noted that there was still one person seated there even after everyone else had gone.

"I'm sorry miss, but you have to leave now," Shinobu told her politely.

The purple haired girl took out another 500 yen coin and handed it to her. "I want to see it again," she mumbled around a lollipop.

"Oh, well that's great but you don't have to see it right now if you don't want. We'll be running this for the rest of the festival. You can see it again any time."

"I don't want to wait," she said dully. "I want to see it again now."

"Well, sure okay," Shinobu took her money. "I won't bother giving you a ticket since you're already in your seat. The next showing should be in about 15 minutes."

The girl nodded and said nothing more. She sat patiently in her seat staring at the empty screen, waiting.

XXXXXXXXXX

Moka and Tsukune were walking through the crowd holding hands. "That was so wonderful," Moka said. "I really enjoyed that, and now I get to enjoy the festival with you at my side."

"You really like festivals Moka?"

She smiled at him joyously. "I used to not, I used to attends them alone. I would look at all the happy couples surrounding me and I would long for someone to be by my side and hold my hand." She gave his a gentle squeeze. "Now I get to spend it with you, I'm so happy."

"Moka," seeing her smile like that made him feel lightheaded. He wanted nothing more than to just take her in his arms and begin kissing her. But that would be too much, if Mizore or her mom heard about it Mizore would be deeply hurt. At least walking hand in hand they could claim to be acting as just close friends or as master and familiar. "Moka you will _never_ have to attend a festival alone again, I will _always_ be there with you."

Nodding she put her head on his shoulder. "I know that," she said in a contented sigh.

XXXXXXXXXX

They spent a wonderful day together, just the two of them, and after the festival closed for the night they spent an even more enjoyable time back in her room.

The next day the two of them met with Yukari and Shinobu and they strolled though the festival having ice cream and playing at the different stalls. Yukari had an especially fun time riding Gin's back as she kicked the hell out of his ribs.

It was a beautiful sweet day spent together with friends.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jibo was working the theater for the movie club on the second day. The first showing had been at 11:00 with another one every hour and forty minutes after. There had been really good word of mouth about the picture and almost every seat was sold. He had worked the entire day and was now clearing the room for the 8:00 showing which was the seventh and last for the day.

As he hurriedly swept up and straightened some of the chairs he looked at the weird girl sitting in that same seat in the back row. She had been the very first person in line at eleven and had not left her eat since then, not even to use the bathroom. He went over to her once things were straightened. "Again?" He asked.

She nodded and produced a five hundred yen coin. "Yes please."

He took the coin and looked at her questioningly. "I think it's a good film too, but you're a little bit obsessed don't you think?"

She turned her face from the screen to look at him. "Obsessed?" She said in lifeless voice. "Yes, I suppose that I am." She looked away from him again and stared at the screen.

XXXXXXXXXX

On the morning of the third and final day, as the buses arrived with alumni, an all terrain vehicle exited the tunnel near the school. It took a spot at the school parking lot. A beautiful woman in a lavender yukata and silver hair stepped out of it. Shirayuki Tsurara looked about the campus with a smile, eager to meet this Tsukune that her Mizore was in love with.

XXXXXXXXXX

**Author's Notes: **The next chapter is the last one.


	27. The End

They were lying in bed together enjoying some slow unhurried kissing. He finally had her, the girl he had always secretly longed for. She was different from the girl he had first longed for but she was still Moka. He had never really thought this would happen. He was always certain that she could never truly care for him, not in the way he wanted. But she did, the girl that he loved loved him. Was there anything sweeter in life? If he could just stay with her like this forever …

Kissing her he noticed the clock, it was almost eleven.

"I have to get ready," he said with real regret. He gave her one more long kiss and then slid out of her bed.

"That's right," Moka said. "You're spending the day with Mizore and her mom."

"Yeah, heh, I'm going to be her 'boyfriend,'" he tried to make it a joke but the words didn't sound right.

She sat up in the bed and looked at him nervously. "Her _pretend _boyfriend, right Tsukune?"

"Of course!" He said immediately. "It's just for as long as her mom is here. Tomorrow we'll let everyone know we're a couple."

"Promise?"

Though he needed a shower he strode back to her side and reassured her with another kiss. "Promise."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Tsukune-kun," she grabbed onto his arm and put her head on his shoulder.

He hadn't quite reached the spot where they were meeting before she had seized him. He was really surprised; she had never been this affectionate in public before. Holding hands was as far as she would ever go. _I suppose she's making up for lost time, and I was the one who wanted to keep our relationship secret. _He damn well knew he was being unfair to her. He didn't mean to be, but the heart wanted what the heart wanted. This would be the first and last time she would ever get to openly call him her boyfriend. He decided that just for today whatever she wanted he would try to give her.

He suppressed his discomfort and tried to give her a warm smile. "Hey Mizore."

"I've been waiting for this day all week," she told him looking up with such adoration. It was hard to believe she was only pretending to be his. "I want to visit all the stalls and play all the games, and I want you to win me a prize! Something cute and furry!"

He nodded. "I'm all yours."

"Good," she said and began to drag him along. "First things first though, let's go meet my mom."

XXXXXXXXXX

Mizore led him to the Academy's main entrance. There a serene and graceful woman in a lavender yukata was waiting. Unlike Mizore her hair was silver but she had the same bottomless clear blue eyes. As soon as they were near Mizore wasted no time introducing him.

"Mother, this is my boyfriend Tsukune! Tsukune, this is my mother, Tsurara."

Tsukune offered her a very deep and polite bow. "It's a very great honor to meet you Tsurara-san."

Tsurara had a birdlike grin as she saw the way her daughter was bouncing up and down as she held his arm, refusing to let go of him for even a second. Mizore had always been a quiet child so seeing her so excited was a treat. Her usual reserve had been forgotten as she put her feelings clearly on display. Obviously she hadn't been exaggerating her feelings for this boy in her letters.

Tsukune's reaction was much more restrained. He seemed nervous, and a bit uncomfortable. She didn't miss the way his eyes darted to Mizore and her hold on his arm. From the way she had described him Tsurara had expected him to be a bit more open and social. Perhaps meeting her was making him nervous. That wouldn't be unusual.

"Please Tsukune; there is no need to be so formal. Refer to me simply as Tsurara."

"Tsurara," he said politely. "I really hope that you enjoy your visit here. Your daughter is a wonderful girl and she is very precious to me."

"You're very precious to me too Tsukune-kun," without warning Mizore got up on her toes and planted a kiss on his cheek.

Startled Tsukune blushed while Tsurara laughed into her hand. "Oh my daughter, you're kissing him right in front of my eyes? How very bold. You must feel quite daring."

"No," she said as she closed her eyes and put her head on his shoulder. "I just wanted to kiss him, that's all."

"You're a very lucky young man Tsukune," Tsurara said approvingly. "I can see how strong and true my daughter's feelings for you are."

Tsurara had expected those words to please him; instead they made him look even more uneasy. Was she really making him that nervous?

"Uh, why don't we get something to drink and sit down for a bit?' Tsukune suggested.

They agreed that it was a good idea and Tsurara followed along as Mizore led the way dragging Tsukune behind her.

As they headed into the crowd Tsurara kept a careful eye on the young couple, silently observing them. She soon realized that there was something off about their behavior. She knew how strongly her daughter cared for him. Her last dozen letters had been about nothing _but _him. Yet even so, the way she was behaving was too out of character. Some of her letters had specifically mentioned how she had gushed at having him hold her hand in public. She also knew that they were lovers, but how they behaved in private was another matter. It was as if her daughter was desperate to show him her affection. While Tsurara did not disapprove of that it was something better suited for when they were alone. That was when a woman really needed to show a man what he meant to her.

She also noticed that Tsukune was not responding to her daughter the way a boyfriend should. Even if he found it a bit embarrassing he should have still enjoyed her attention. Instead he seemed to be trying his best to… to endure it. Tsurara frowned, something was going on here.

They found an open table where they could sit and relax for a bit.

"You two wait here," Tsurara announced. "I will get us some drinks." She was gone into the crowd before either of them could object.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tsukune waited until he was sure she was gone before pulling his arm free and giving Mizore an unhappy look. "Don't you think you're pushing things a bit?" He did his best not to snap at her.

"What do you mean?" She asked with a pout. "Didn't you say you'd be my boyfriend today?"

"I said I would _pretend_ to be your boyfriend," he said patiently. "That doesn't mean you have to be so clingy. You were never like this when we were really together."

"I was shy then, and you made me make that promise. Now I don't care what anyone thinks." She pulled out her lollipop and got up on her toes again. This time though when she kissed him it was on the lips. She expertly opened his mouth and slid in her tongue.

Panicked he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away roughly, almost knocking her down. He looked about afraid Moka or Yukari of Shinobu might have seen it. "Don't do that again!"

She stared at him, her eyes consumed with hurt. He was keeping her at arm's length, as though he didn't want to risk being touched by her again. "Don't do that again?" She muttered to herself, not trying to hide the hurt.

"Was it really just a week ago you were in my room kissing me as if you couldn't get enough? Was it not just a week when you were pulling off my clothes and pushing me down on my bed?" The tranquil voice became breathless, as if the moments they'd shared were just seconds ago rather than days.

"Have you already forgotten how you touched me with your mouth and hands? Have you forgotten all the things I did to you with _my_ mouth and hands? Didn't I do all the things you wanted, over and over again, Tsukune-kun? How many times did we make love? How many times did I beg you to stop, only to have you keep thrusting inside me, punishing me, overwhelming me, filling me with your iron and then filling me with your seed?"

Mizore's whole body quivered with the memories of her climaxes, her cheeks flushed a lusty rose on her pale skin.

"Do you know how many times I hoped, I prayed, I _wept_ that I would become pregnant? Do you know what it is like for a woman to be filled like that, to give a man _everything, _and then have him look away from her? To have the one person who means the entire world to her say she is no longer good enough?"

She walked up to him, her fingers reaching out to touch him, but stopping when he took a step back. She let them drop to her sides, a helplessness and defeated gesture. She knew she couldn't fight, she loved but knew did not love her.

"We were connected, Tsukune. I know you felt it too, I felt your love as you held me, I saw it there in your eyes. Did it all really mean so little to you? How can everything we did be just an annoyance? Didn't…" she felt the hot tears begin to flow down her cheek. Felt her hands and body trembling. "Didn't I matter to you at all?"

He saw her shaking, saw her tears, and knew it was because of what he'd done. He kept trying not to hurt her but now he'd done it again! He put his arms around her and pulled her close. He stopped worrying about appearances and tried to think about her. "I'm sorry Mizore, I'm so sorry. Of course you mattered to me! You still do. I want you to be happy."

"Then come back to me," she moaned and pressed herself into his warm chest. A part of her wished she didn't need this as much as she did. But whether he was holding her just to quiet her or just out of pity it felt so good for him to hold her again!

"You know I can't," he said.

"Then at least kiss me!" She looked up at him and wiped her eyes. "This is our last day together; give me just a few more happy memories."

He thought of Moka. "I can't," he said sadly.

Even now she couldn't make herself hate him. Even after bearing her soul to him he still rejected her… and she still loved him more than the world.

"Then can you hold me like this for awhile? Can I feel you arms protecting me for a while longer?"

He slowly nodded and held her a little tighter. "Yeah, I can do that."

XXXXXXXXXX

From around a corner Tsurara had watched the scene play out. She'd been too far away to overhear her daughter's words but it was obvious something was wrong. Why had he pushed her away like that? What had he done or said to bring Mizore to tears?

Whatever it was she would find out before she left. She went to get those drinks.

XXXXXXXXXX

"So where is Tsukune?" Yukari asked.

"Oh, he's with Mizore and her mom right now," Moka answered.

"Really?" The little witch said excitedly. "Are they on a date?"

"No they're not!" Moka said angrily.

Seeing the reaction Yukari grinned. "Ooooh I bet they get all lovey dovey, maybe she'll invite him back to her room and…"

Moka planted her hands over her hears. "I'm not listening!"

Seeing how seriously Moka was taking her words Yukari kept on teasing her.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tsurara had originally intended to ask Tsukune his thoughts on marriage, but given what she'd seen she had decided to steer clear of that subject. They'd had a little bit of light conversation and then she had asked Mizore to give her a short tour of the academy. Her daughter had actually refused; she didn't want to be apart from Tsukune for even a minute. Tsurara had given her daughter a certain look which brought her back to her senses. Before leaving they made plans to meet with Tsukune for dinner.

As they walked along together Tsurara turned to her daughter. "Let us go to your room and have a private talk."

Mizore looked at her nervously. "Why do we have to go to my room?"

Tsurara gave her a cold no nonsense stare. "Because I mean to find out exactly what is going on here. And do not lie and say nothing, I saw you kiss him and the way he reacted."

Mizore lowered her head. "You saw that?" She asked miserably.

"I did, would you care to explain? Or shall I ask Tsukune instead?"

Mizore shook her head violently. "I'll… I'll explain in my room."

Tsurara nodded satisfied.

XXXXXXXXXX

Twenty minutes later a broken and weeping Mizore was curled up on her bed with her head resting in her mother's lap.

Tsurara was slowly running her hand through her daughter's hair in an effort to comfort her. The last time she'd seen Mizore like this had been when her poor father passed away. "There, there, my dear, it's all right."

"I just… I just want to be with him!" She choked out between sobs.

"I know," Tsurara said patiently and then asked. "Do you love him? Do you want him to be your husband? Do you want him to be the father of your children?"

"YES! More than anything!" Mizore answered.

Tsurara placed a comforting hand on her daughter's cheek. "Then that is all that matters. Remember we are Yukki-onna child. If he is the one you truly want then so be it." She sounded very much like a judge passing sentence.

"But... but Moka has a contract with him! He's her familiar and she'll never let him go. What about her?"

Tsurara nodded. "If she is in the way then something will have to be done."

Mizore stopped crying and looked up at her mother. She began to slowly smile.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tsukune met Mizore and her mom at the cafeteria where they had dinner. He then accompanied them as they hit all the stalls and games. Mizore was much better behaved, she settled for walking hand in hand with him and did not try to do anything beyond hugging him when he wonder a stuffed rabbit at a game of ring toss.

Mizore did insist that they stay until the festival actually closed. Tsukune was hoping to slip away sooner and see Moka, but since this was the last night he didn't complain. He had the rest of his life to spend with Moka; he could give Mizore and her mom a few more hours.

When the festival did come to its end the students quickly closed the stands down and the crowds hurried off the to the last buses of the night.

"Tsukune, would you help me walk my mom to her car?"

"Sure Mizore," he turned to Tsurara. "I hope you had a good time."

"I had a fine time Tsukune," she assured him. "And I was very happy to get to meet you. I want you to know I like you, and approve of you being with my daughter."

He looked down feeling embarrassed. Her high opinion would likely change the next time she heard from her daughter. "Thank you, that's very kind of you."

"Come on Tsukune, let's go," Mizore implored holding his hand.

Through the thinning crowds they headed to the nearly empty parking lot.

XXXXXXXXXX

Moka returned to her room feeling tired and a little depressed. She had really missed not being with Tsukune today. She really hoped that this was the last time they ever had to be apart like this.

"Hello Moka," Mizore called as the lights came on. She was casually standing there leaning against her table.

"Mizore? What are you doing here? Where's Tsu… kmmph!" Without warning another Mizore grabbed her from behind and planted a hand over her mouth. Her hand was ice cold.

Moka's eyes widened in fear as the Mizore in front of her transformed her right arm into a scythe.

"The only sure way to kill a vampire is to cut its head off right?" She sounded completely at ease as she raised her arm up.

With her free hand she grabbed at her rosario and tugged with all her might, but it was useless. _Help me Tsukune! _But even as she thought it she knew through their link that he was too far away to save her.

His face was the last thing she thought of.

XXXXXXXXXX

They were just about to Tsurara's car and he was just about to say a last goodbye when he felt panic fill him. The fear was not his own, it came from Moka. Something had her terrified and he could sense it through their link.

"Is something wrong Tsukune?" Mizore asked him.

He was about to tell her he had to go when a mind splitting pain tore through him. It felt exactly like his heart had just been ripped from his chest. "Moka!!" He screamed and then fell.

As darkness swallowed him the last thing he heard was Mizore's voice.

"It's all right Tsukune, everything is all right now."

XXXXXXXXXX

When he woke up he was in a large bed in an unfamiliar room. Looking out a window he was startled to see the sky an amazing curtain of pink and orange and red and indigo. As he stared out he felt tears, his connection with Moka was gone. He knew what that meant.

"Moka," he whispered.

"Don't be sad Tsukune," Mizore spoke. He looked over to see she was staining in a chair by his bed. "This is for the best."

He noticed that she was not wearing her usual outfit. She had on a yukata similar to the one her mom had worn. "Mizore? Where am I? What happened?"

"You are in my room, in my home, in the snow village of the Yuki-onna."

"Yuki-onna? Snow women?"

Mizore nodded and as he watched she momentarily transformed into her true self. Her hands and arms became massive ice claws while her hair also turned to ice. "That's what I am, I'm sorry I never told you. I wasn't keeping it a secret or anything, it just never came up."

"Why am I here though?" He slowly sat up in bed. "Why didn't you bring me to the infirmary?"

"I brought you here so that we could be together Tsukune," she ended her transformation and reverted back to her human appearance.

"What? I don't understand."

She smiled at him lovingly. "I brought you here so you could be my husband and father my children."

He openly stared at her. "Wha… what was that?"

"Don't you know the stories of the Yuki-onna?" She asked. "We take men away so that they can be out husbands. That's why you're here Tsukune. The population of my race has been in decline because the number of years when a snow woman is fertile and able to bear children is very brief. So we are all required to marry by the time we are 17 and begin having children immediately." She looked blissfully happy. "I'm so lucky I found you Tsukune! The girls who can't find their own husbands have them provided for them by the village. A lot of them are stuck in loveless marriages and have to endure it for the sake of raising children. But I'm so blessed! I found my one true love and now we'll be together for always!"

Listening to her something terrible slowly dawned on him. "Moka," he gasped in stunned horror. "You, you…"

"I told you a long time ago that I would rescue you from her," she said. "And now I have."

"Mizore," he said warily. "There's no way I'm going to marry you or stay here and have a family with you."

"You don't really have a choice Tsukune," she said pleasantly. "Just like the academy we have our own laws. Men who are brought here can never leave. No one will hurt you and you will be treated very well, but neither will you be allowed to leave. You don't need to worry though, this isn't a prison. You'll be well taken care of, and you won't ever need to work again. From now on your only responsibilities will to be a loving husband and father!"

She seemed completely serious. The fact that Moka was gone and he was here made him believe she really was serious. "Mizore you wouldn't want me for a husband I'm, ah well, I'm human. I only made it into the academy by mistake."

"You're human?" She said in surprise.

"Yeah, I am."

"Oh, well that doesn't matter to me. There are plenty of human males here already, you don't need to worry, you can father my children. And I don't care what you are; I love you no matter what."

"But I don't love you!" He cried out. "I cared about you, I really did, but I never really loved you! I needed someone and you were there, and maybe it was selfish of me but I was only with you because I was hurting and I needed someone to make the pain go away."

His words did not seem to sting. "I know that Tsukune, when you met me I was in the exact same situation, only worse. You were my lifeline; you kept me from drowning in despair. At first maybe I was using you too, but it became love." She sighed happily. "I love you Tsukune, and I know you love me too."

"I don't," he said in a harsh voice. "You killed Moka, the one I really loved. I **hate** you Mizore! Even if it means you kill me I'll never love you. I don't think I could even stand to touch you."

Mizore shook her head. "I would never kill you Tsukune, I would never hurt you. If you need to hate me you can," she told him. "I know that you love me, you're just confused because of what Moka did to you. I can wait as long as it takes for you to realize that **I'm** the one you really love. As for touching me I'm afraid you'll have to whether you want to or not. Like I said I only have so many years to have my… have our children. I'd much prefer you had me because you wanted to, but if I need to there are flowers that can put you in the right mood."

She approached his side and reached for him. He skidded back across the bed as though she were poisonous.

She calmly folded her hands and looked at him. "It's all right Tsukune-kun; you can take as long as you want. I'll wait as long as you need me too. I love you and I know you love me, and that is all that matters."

He stared at her, horrified that he really was trapped here with the person who had killed his one and only love.

Seeing he didn't have anything to say she turned around and headed to the door. "I'm going to help mother with lunch, come down when you're hungry." She exited and closed the door behind her.

With that he was left all alone.

**THE END**


End file.
